When we spoke to Emily Robinson earlier this year on our Mushing podcast we asked her if she was prepared to defend her title as the reigning Junior Iditarod champ. 

“I want to focus on my dogs and just have the best race that I could.” 

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – All eyes — and pressure — were on Emily Robinson Sunday at the 2024 Junior Iditarod.

The 16-year-old Nenana musher entered this year’s race as the back-to-back champion, coming off an extraordinary Knik 200 victory in January in a field full of Iditarod mushers twice her age.

Competing against 21 junior mushers, Robinson came out as the lead dog once again, reaching the Junior Iditarod finish line at 11:54 a.m. Sunday with all 10 dogs to capture the elusive three-peat in the 150-mile race.

Robinson reached the halfway point Saturday night in Yentna with a 14-minute lead over Morgan Martens, who finished runner-up. Robinson continued to create separation the final 75 miles, where the 10th grader joined Jr. Iditarod history at the finish.

in the race held since 1977, for mushers ages 14-17, only one competitor had won the race three times in a row, Tim Osmar from 1982-1984. Robinson won the race in her first year of eligibility at 14, before becoming the first female to win the race twice when she was crowned champion last year.

She joins Osmar as the only musher to three-peat the race. Robinson has another run at the Jr. Iditarod where she could cement herself as one of the best junior mushers of all time with an unheard of four-peat.