Stray Dog Follows Extreme Sports Team During Intense 430-Mile Trek

“I came to Ecuador to win the World Championship” said Mikael Lindnord, one of the members of a team of Swedish athletes competing in the gruelling Adventure Racing World Championship. “Instead I got a new friend.” This “new friend” happens to have four legs, a waggling tail, and a very unique story.

The extreme sports team was completing a 430-mile extreme sports race when they met a “scruffy, miserable” hungry-looking stray dog. Lindnord shared a meatball with the dog, thinking that it would go away.

But as they continued on their journey, the dog followed them. He completed the race with the team. The races were climbing hills, hiking muddy trails and even kayaking down fast-flowing rivers for more than 60 miles. Although the team let the canine follow them along, concerns about his safety arose when they got to the 36 mile kayaking portion of the race. The team tried to leave him behind but the dog just kept on following them, they eventually took him into the boat and warmed him with their jackets.

“It was quite difficult, technically, to paddle with a big dog in your lap” he explained of the challenge, adding “Sometimes he jumped in to hunt fish. When he became too cold he had to borrow my jacket.”

After racing for six days, the team finally crossed the finishing line — all five of them. The team didn’t win the race — they came in 12th place — but it turns out that Arthur was the true winner: Lindnord adopted him, and brought him home to Sweden. As he put it: “I came to Ecuador to win the World Championship. Instead, I won a new friend.”

Adapted from Solutions Intermediate