Animals
German championship: mud fight with sled dogs
Justin Kreuzig’s dogs from SSVS Sachsen run around the circuit. photo
© Jens Büttner/dpa
Dog with runner, dog with cyclist and dogs with cart: German sled dog sport teams competed in several disciplines in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. But the animals didn’t walk on snow.
The elite of German sled dog sport gathered in Plate in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania at the weekend. The German Dryland Championships will take place here from Saturday to Sunday, with Dryland meaning the event takes place on dry land, i.e. not on snow. There was still some snow on Saturday morning. “Two or three centimeters, but that all melted away relatively quickly,” said Johannes Heyn from the Association of German Sled Dog Sports Clubs. “It’s now a mud fight.”
The trailers run on wheels and not on runners. According to Heyn, more than 140 so-called mushers came to the motorcross park in the small community. The drivers of a dog team are called mushers. There were also around 1000 Dogs announced.
According to Zebedies, the wheeled wagons are pulled by four, six or eight dogs over a distance of 5.2 kilometers. According to the association, speeds of up to 45 kilometers per hour can be achieved.
But there are also categories in which runners compete on this route with their dog – the so-called canicross. According to Candy Zebedies, athletes will also be competing in the bike and dog as well as scooter and dog competition classes. The 14 German champions should be determined on Sunday afternoon.