By Ben Church, CNN
There was a welcome addition to the end of Wednesday’s Olympic women’s cross-country skiing team sprint free race, when a dog joined some of the athletes for the final sprint to the line.
Footage from the broadcast showed the happy-looking pup running behind two skiers, with the crowd cheering as it crossed the finish line.
The dog was then shown sniffing at the competition, with skiers looking somewhat confused by their new rival.
“He was super happy crossing the finish line. I was so focused on finishing the race (that) I didn’t look at the dog,” Argentinian skier Nahiara DÃaz González said after the race.
“It was just a fun experience. This is not normal. I don’t know what he was doing here. But the finish was not a problem. Luckily, it went well.”
A dog runs next to Tena Hadzic from Croatia during the cross-country team sprint on Lago di Tesero during the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina 2026.
Photo: AFP / NTB / Terje Pedersen
Wait, tell me more about this dog
Fear not, we have a backstory on the runaway canine.
According to NPR, the four-legged friend is local to the area and is named Nazgul.
After being wrangled by organizers, the Czechoslovakian wolfdog – officially called a Czechoslovakian Vlciak by the American Kennel Club (AKC) – was later returned to his owners who, as NPR reports, are related to one of the event officials.
According to NPR, the four-legged friend is local to the area and is named Nazgul.
Photo: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images via CNN Newsource
Although two-year-old Nazgul wasn’t available for comment after his Olympic debut, his owners spoke on his behalf to explain what happened.
“He was crying this morning more than normal because he was seeing us leaving and I think he just wanted to follow us,” the owner told NPR, adding the dog had escaped from the house. “He always looks for people.”
According to the AKC, Nazgul then is somewhat of an exception in his nature. The breed is marked as “lovey dovey” with family members but “reserved” when confronted by strangers.
However, he sure does live up to other aspects of the breed, with the AKC saying they are an “excellent choice for tracking or trailing sport/work, or as a companion for active owners who enjoy spending time doing outdoor activities such as biking, running, or hiking” – or Olympic cross-country skiing it seems.
A dog – reportedly a Czechoslovakian wolfdog – wanders onto the ski trail during the women’s team cross country free sprint qualification event at Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in Lago di Tesero (Val di Fiemme) on February 18.
Photo: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images via CNN Newsource
Fortunately, Nazgul didn’t seem to have much of an impact on the race, which was just a qualification for the final.
“I was surprised as everyone else,” said Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist, who went onto win gold in the event, alongside her teammate Jonna Sundling.
“That was something I had never seen ever before. Kind of crazy.”
Let’s hope to see Nazgul compete for real when the 2030 Winter Games come around in France.
– CNN