John Baker

John Quniaq Baker (born 1962 or 1963 in Kotzebue, Alaska) is a self-employed American dog musher, pilot and motivational speaker of Inupiaq descent who once consistently placed in the top 10 during the long distance Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Baker won the 2011 Iditarod with a finish time of 8 Days 19 Hours 46 Minutes 39 Seconds.

Mushing career Baker started mushing at age 14. He raced in his first Iditarod in 1996, placing 22nd. By his third race he placed in the top 10, and he sustained that position for six of the next seven years (from the 1998 to the 2005 Iditarods), only dropping to 22nd once again in 2000 due to dog trouble. His second best finish was in 2002, when he crossed the finish line in 3rd place in 9 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes, and 30 seconds. In 1998, he won both the Dorothy G. Page Halfway Award and the Regal Alaskan's First Musher to the Yukon Award. He competed in every race from the 1996 to the 2017 Iditarod. In the 2009 Iditarod, he finished in 3rd place. He has 24 dogs.

Like Ramy Brooks, Baker is one of the few Alaska Native dog sled racers who compete in the modern Iditarod.

Animal abuse allegations In 2018, a former employee accused Baker of abusing dogs. Baker denied the allegations, which were promoted by PETA, a longtime critic of dog mushing.

Baker withdrew from the then-upcoming 2018 Iditarod following the accusations against him, saying that he had never planned to compete and had only registered to support the race.

Other former handlers either denied or would not confirm the allegations, and images used to support the 2018 accusation later proved to be from internet postings not related to Baker.

1996 22nd 10 days, 23:26:00 1997 11th 9 days, 23:09:36 1998 5th 9 days, 21:43:09 1999 8th 10 days, 10:10:54 2000 22nd 10 days, 05:48:29 2001 6th 10 days, 21:00:30 2002 3rd 9 days, 05:46:30 2003 8th 10 days, 07:33:07 2004 9th 10 days, 00:43:00 2005 6th 9 days, 21:41:00 2006 5th 9 days, 17:37:45 2011 1st 8 days, 19:46:39 2012 9th 9 days, 13:25:47 2013 21st 9 days, 21:49:16 2014 19th 9 days, 18:19:15 2015 21st 9 days, 22:12:58 2016 17th 9 days, 05:45:05 2017 18th 9 days, 05:50:30

Personal life Baker worked as a pilot and manager of his family's air taxi business. He also visits local schools as a motivational lecturer.

Baker lives near his extended family on the coast of the Chukchi Sea in Kotzebue, Alaska, and has a fish camp/winter cabin 30 mi (50 km) away, across Kobuk Lake. His son Alex has competed in the Junior Iditarod. He also has a daughter, Tahayla. Baker is married to musher Katherine Keith;

Baker is of Inupiaq and Jewish heritage. His grandmother, Clara Rotman (née Levy), was born in Kiana, Alaska in 1914. She was born to a Native Alaskan mother and a Jewish father and was raised Jewish and cherished her Jewish heritage. In 2011, Baker became the first Jew and the first Inuk to win the Iditarod.