March 07, 2018 - 3:53 PM
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The Latest on the Iditarod (all times local):
2:30 p.m.
The head of the Iditarod's drug testing program, who is challenging his termination from a university over allegations of bullying, has been accused of threatening a musher just before the start of this year's race.
Iditarod officials are reviewing the allegations and will make a decision on the future role of Dr. Morrie Craig within the next few days.
Musher Wade Marrs said Craig threatened to reveal his dogs tested positive for a banned substance. Marrs felt it was out of retaliation for the musher being vocal about how race officials have handled dog doping.
The Iditarod says Marrs' dogs did have a small amount of lidocaine in their system but not enough to trigger a positive test.
Oregon State University terminated Craig after a faculty committee found the toxicology professor bullied two students and sexual harassed a student and faculty member. He's challenging his termination.
Attempts to reach Craig on Wednesday weren't successful.
___
7:45 a.m.
A Norwegian musher has seized the lead early on the fourth day of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Official standings Wednesday show Joar Leifseth Ulsom as the first musher into Ophir (OH-fur).
The checkpoint 352 miles (566 kilometres) from the race start. Ulsom stayed for 10 minutes and left shortly before 5 a.m.
Ulsom is from Mo I Rana in Norway. He was the 2013 Iditarod Rookie of the Year.
Hugh Neff of Tok is in second place on the trail to Ophir and reigning champion Mitch Seavey is in third.
Sixty-seven teams began the race Sunday in Willow.
The winner will take about nine days to travel 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) over trails and frozen rivers to reach Nome on Alaska's west coast.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018