In this photo provided by the Iditarod Trail Committee, veteran musher Scott Smith and his race team travel along the frozen Kouwegok River out of Unalakleet, Alaska, toward the Shaktoolik checkpoint Monday, March 13, 2017. Mushers and their race teams competing in Iditarod XLV are now past the halfway point of the race and heading into the final push on the trek to Nome. (Mike Kenney/Iditarod Trail Committee via AP)
In this photo provided by the Iditarod Trail Committee, veteran musher Scott Smith and his race team travel along the frozen Kouwegok River out of Unalakleet, Alaska, toward the Shaktoolik checkpoint Monday, March 13, 2017. Mushers and their race teams competing in Iditarod XLV are now past the halfway point of the race and heading into the final push on the trek to Nome. (Mike Kenney/Iditarod Trail Committee via AP) Credit: ap/Iditarod Trail Committee — Mike Kenney

Anchorage, Alaska — Mitch Seavey won his third Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Tuesday, becoming the oldest champion at age 57 and helping cement his family’s position as mushing royalty.

The Seward, Alaska, musher brought his dogs off the frozen Bering Sea and onto Front Street in the Gold Rush town of Nome after crossing nearly 1,000 miles of Alaska wilderness.

He outran his son, defending champion Dallas Seavey, and lapped the oldest musher record that he set at age 53 in 2013. He previously won the race in 2013 and 2004.

“This is kind of a ride of a lifetime,” Mitch Seavey told a camera crew for the Iditarod website as he was packing his sled to leave the last checkpoint, White Mountain.

“I hope there’s more, but it’s fantastic to see these guys perform,” he said of his dog team.

The Seaveys have now won the last six races. Dallas Seavey won four of those races, and his father finished second the last two years. The two are close but competitive.

The family’s ties to the race go back to the first Iditarod, held in 1973, when Mitch Seavey’s dad, Dan, mushed in the event.

Mitch Seavey admitted that while winning is nice, it’s just part of the journey.

“This is the joy of the dog team, the accomplishments of the kennel and family,” he said. “The winning is kind of checking the box, but getting it done is really where the value is.”

The younger Seavey, who is 30, had wins in 2012 and from 2014 to 2016.

The race started March 6 in Fairbanks, with 71 teams trying to navigate nearly a thousand miles of grueling Alaska wilderness to the finish line in the old Gold Rush town of Nome. Four mushers scratched.

Golf

Muirfield Admits Women,Back on British Open Rrotation

Gullane, Scotland — Muirfield has voted to admit female members for the first time in its 273-year history, paving the way for the Scottish golf club to again host the British Open.

The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which owns Muirfield and is the world’s oldest golf club, held a second postal ballot after members voted last May to retain the male-only policy. That led to Muirfield being taken off the list of 10 courses that can host the British Open.

The results of the second vote were announced on Tuesday, with 80.2 percent voting to allow women to become members.

Tennis

Nadal, Venus Williams Win at Indian Wells

Indian Wells, Calif. — Rafael Nadal defeated Fernando Verdasco, 6-3, 7-5, in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open on Tuesday for his 50th career victory at the desert tournament.

Nadal closed out the 1½-hour match in 95-degree heat with a forehand winner. The three-time tournament champion could next face Roger Federer, who played American Steve Johnson later.

Nadal won 80 percent of his first-serve points and three of five break points. Verdasco, who won eight straight points for a 3-2 lead in the second set, had seven double faults.

Venus Williams advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2001 with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Shuai Peng, the last remaining qualifier in the draw.

She had 40 winners, 40 unforced errors and won the final four games of the match after trailing 3-2.

Williams ended her 15-year boycott of the event last year, when she lost in the second round.

In other women’s matches, No. 3 seed Karolina Pliskova advanced when 15th-seeded Timea Bacsinszky retired trailing 5-1 in the first set; No. 19 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova outlasted No. 5 Dominika Cibulkova 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; and No. 8 Svetlana Kuznetsova beat 21st-seeded Caroline Garcia.

On the men’s side, No. 4 seed Kei Nishikori routed 25th-seeded Gilles Muller 6-2, 6-2; American Donald Young defeated 14th-seeded Lucas Pouille 6-4, 1-6, 6-3; and Malek Jaziri got by American Taylor Fritz 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Five-time Indian Wells winner Novak Djokovic takes on 2013 finalist Juan Martin del Potro at night.