Newton Marshall is Jamaica's newest ambassador.
The 25-year-old former gardener, horseback guide and dog trainer for Chukka Caribbean Adventures in Ocho Rios placed 13th in the grueling 1,016-mile Yukon Quest dogsled race from Whitehorse to Fairbanks, Alaska.
He drove his team of 10 huskies across the finish line in 11 days, 19 hours and two minutes, arriving in the Fairbanks dawn with a wide Jamaican grin on his frostbitten face.
Marshall earned $3,000 for his finish and a chance to compete in the annual 1,150-mile Iditarod Great Sled Race that spans the width of Alaska.
A film team has made a d
ocumentary about him, but Marshall is most proud of the Challenge of the North award presented to him by the race marshal and judges for "best exemplifying the spirit of the Yukon Quest."
Marshall has headed home to Jamaica to soak up the sun before returning to work at Chukka, where he runs cart-mushing tours with Jamaican mongrel shelter dogs.
Way to go, mon!
-- Gay Nagle Myers
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