4-time Iditarod champion Lance Mackey dies

Lance Mackey, one of mushing's most colourful and accomplished champions who also suffered from health and drug issues, has died.

The four-time Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race winner died Wednesday from cancer, his father and kennel announced on Facebook. He was 52.

Officials with the world's most famous sled dog race said Iditarod Nation was in mourning.

"Lance embodied the spirit of the race, the tenacity of an Alaskan musher, displayed the ultimate show of perseverance and was loved by his fans," officials said in a statement.

The son of 1978 Iditarod champion Dick Mackey and brother of 1983 champion Rick Mackey, Lance Mackey overcame throat cancer in 2001 to win an unprecedented four straight Iditarod championships, from 2007 through 2010.

It wasn't just the 1,609-kilometre race across Alaska where he excelled. During his Iditarod run, twice he also won the 1,609-kilometre Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race between Canada and Alaska with only two weeks' rest between races.

But after the string of wins, he was beset by personal problems, health scares and drug issues that prevented him from ever again reaching the top of the sport.

The treatment for his throat cancer cost him his saliva glands and ultimately disintegrated his teeth.

He was then diagnosed with Raynaud's syndrome, which limits circulation to the hands and feet and is exacerbated by the cold weather that every musher must contend with in the wilds of Alaska.

In the 2015 race, he couldn't manipulate his fingers to do simple tasks, like putting booties on his dogs' paws to protect them from the snow, ice and cold. His brother and fellow competitor Jason Mackey agreed to stay with him at the back of the pack to help him care for the dogs.

It was a