week before we go, a reminder of our top story at this hour, ukrainian president of believers once he has delivered a christmas eve address, saying he believes tiers will give way to join. his message comes as ukraine contains to suffer from deadly russian attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure. a russian missile attack kills many and deliberative city of her son on saturday. at your news update our stay tuned for sport 5 coming up next or check out more news and analysis on our website at the d. w dot com. thanks for watching them. what are sports all about in winning fighting scoring we say they were about never giving up the most exciting sport stories about people

passion and their dr. sports life every weekend on d w. they want to know what makes the germans here just in the gym. love about anything that way, but i'm not even know how to work my own car and everyone with later holes and everything today. just kidding. are you ready to meet the german then join me, right? just do it on d, w a y a a a. i'm

andre bart is living the dream in his winter wonderland. in sweden's lapland. he owns a husky farm with 50 dogs. ah, the sled dog handler. better known as a marcia has lived here for 5 years. he's made lapland is home. along with his partner kirsten pillar, their love of dogs brought them here and then the i followed him, shit and wounded. when you 1st get the sled dog bug, it's very hard to stop. guns. working with sled dogs is a bit more than just owning dogs. one through trip, no one, i trust the dogs and me and the dog trusts me. your when tom, you see this cooperation best in difficult situations and moment. all right. how's you don't forget it. i'm or when feelings adored susan's or moment when you've been in a snowstorm a few times or been pushed to the limit with was and your dogs bring you home in

the house because they trust you and you give the responsibility to the dog, sanford own business gift there is so much potentials and this is also fun. i learned as my total as much bosses. ah, andreas and kirsten have been together since 1996. 2 years ago their relationship was put to the test. oh. in late summer 2017. they decided to take on an epic challenge, norway's beg below, at sled dog grace, the northern most race in the world. it meant lots of work for the pair who come from northern germany. triology to us when i used to do this for the children there, pairing things and sawing now i do it for the dogs. i would have never dreamt of

doing that before. ah ah. 10 weeks before the race the 1st snow has fallen for andreas. that means the start of the tourist season. forge. i'm on for 100 percent. it will feel a little weird at 1st. you think it's stable, but it moves a bit, but it's okay. you get used to it? i mean, oh, this is andrea earns a living by offering tourists rides. that means training for the race is not always possible. for monday, i'm bassoon, hudson fall when you want to race. there is a clash between training for such a big event and offering tours goes always we want to do both with and in. we want

our guests to be happy like one or 2. the author suggested to freedom for with sometimes he has to train in darkness while also doing tours. andreea's wants to do 3500 kilometers of training before the race. every one counts. training is going well until 5 weeks before the race when cast in decide she is too stressed and busy at home to take part. yeah. hm. oh i'm going to pay him. we have a young couple who can help instead. and for lessons, we have a 1000 present faith and then every day, but the guy doesn't know he's free to come. if the girl france he comes alone, then i think it is easier if she goes with andrea. i would love to but it's fine if it works out with trans. see. and he kept and tom would and then we'll still have a vet. so that's ok. look, i think it is something you would never forget. so

a yard to ma kirsten is irreplaceable. acting as mr. dixon, what can i say or? oh ah! a few days before the race, francie arrives alone. her partner couldn't come. you cast him wants to stay home to help the workers on the farm. francie will support andreas in the race or will make the best of it. and i think that francy is tough enough of going. okay . and it glow. i reckon she can keep her cool better than me. i'm always a bit too of a excited murphy when the time comes andreas and kirsten of train for over half a year and have sacrificed a lot. now andreea's will have to face the challenge without cast him. his wife

hafun. ah. $45.00 participants from 5 countries or at the start of the burg, a beloved andrea's face is a 350 kilometer trick. over the next few days the marcia and his dogs will head into norway's arctic circle for the 1st leg. ice cold winds and temperatures as low as 40 degrees below celsius will push them to that limits. ah regular breaks will be necessary. the physical strain is enormous and the dogs need to recover. okay,

mental concentration is also crucial for both man and dog. after 5 and a half hours and joyous and his dogs reached the 1st checkpoint invite so they've managed around 70 kilometers for an english and spanish. it was quite a relaxed 1st leg. the dogs found their rhythm after about 2 he kilometers or volunteers. of course it wasn't easy on the quicker they lie down now and have a rest, the quicker we can recover the last one. and then we'll see rome new. the brakes are just as important in the race as the long runs. too little sleep for the dogs and the marcia can have dramatic consequences. ah,

while andrea sets off again after 4 hours rest over sled dog races, taking the 1st injured dogs out of the event. andreas has no such problems. and on the 2nd leg, he makes some real progress cruising on checkpoint, always and on the dos flew out of the checkpoint and have pushed themselves more than before and gotten the we had 70 tough kilometers before. at the moment things are clicking into place. but we're not even in the halfway point. so my flight ah, on the next leg, things continue to go smoothly. ah . the partnership with francy is working well. when he rests, she takes care of the dogs. ah.

but the race has left its mark on undress. it is now the 1st day, and he is only really slept for 3 hours in total. the journey through the darkness has become a real test to someone's cuz now we've got another 105 kilometers. when and then my friend would, we can go higher if the house ah, the finish line is drawing ever nearer but they're stay at a checkpoint. is far longer than expected. mm. blue off shouldn't happen. but it's one of those things. a nucleus fuel. i got a feeling that a nuke was just too tired, and i went to speak to the vets and they confirmed it,

and the dog must be pulled out of the race. you have to give the dog to your specific handler. then only then, can you leave the check pointed, put, asked for lessons and doesn't the shore in brooklyn law fantasy room. mm. because she had a phone off sheet of what else? mm hm. and we've been standing around here for 6 hours. that is 6 hours in the darkness. andrea's had been trying to contact francy without success . the rule say only fancy can take the exhausted dog. lou says i sucked and i've made a big mistake and i'm paying for it and i was asleep and i put my phone on silent just out of habit. it was really bad. it hadn't us. i had a missed due to the last time the torch batteries are running low,

as well as the phone battery. after all those calls. carrying on now is not possible. 100 kilometers from the end and address his dream of completing the race is over the face the set up. and i know he was extremely unhappy. he put so much work and money into it. i mean, we could have had tourists here for those 2 weeks. he's well aware of that himself, timothy said, but i know, and he knows that i will totally back him again in the future. i think it was clear the very next day that he wanted to try it again. and 1st i said that's not my mot . 1 2 years later, and andreas is planning to race again with a new team, he is hopeful thanks to his to lead dogs and reyes has a special relationship with clara and didn't ari good. i tuned him good lead dogs are often very sensitive, show, very intelligent limousine or they have to find the trail in all weathers and deal

with the pressure and have solid endurance. does your household and turn if there are 8 to 10 dogs behind her rushing too much, then it is mentally tiring for the dogs and things. but not every dog does that. dogs like anerio, clara, or a pleasure to work with a view the, you know, he ought to be. club auditors are shown in reason to saying we're going out to do li dogs like clara and in ari of the extended arm of the moisture and the most important animals on the team. we helped you musing over gum nerd, so i had the experience in the past that the girls are really tough when they get in difficult situations and she'll harm a guy's work hard to buy. there is nothing to complain about all of them, but when it comes to the real thing, then it's often these seemingly normal female dogs who put their heads down and go through a blizzard. and you stand back and think, how is that possible? but they just do it, but a part good garry. so it all demands. i've andreea's his dream of completing

a long distance sled race lives on even once. francy, i decide again. next time with he is the youngest, among the greatest. the canadian pianist, john leesha, etzky. ah, he leads audiences into the you know, exploring its boundaries ah yon leash yet see the secret of his success. arts 21 next on d w. they breathe, they have body and soul dams is that daniel lee biskin construction more more than just buildings is architecture is

a celebration of democracy and peace. daniel lucent, and architect with emotions in 60 minutes on d. w. a global ideas is on its way to bring you more conservation. how do we make cities greener? how can we protect habitats? we can make a difference. global ideas, environmental series in global 3000 on d, w, and online. ah, i love my life on stage and i love sharing music with an audience. ah, i always give it my all every single concert and a 100 times a year that sometimes can be a little bit much. mm hm.