A surprising competitor joined in on a women’s cross-country skiing event at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
As skiers reached the end of the Wednesday, February 18, event, a dog found its way onto the course and crossed the finish line. “Racing to the line there, the crowd clearly enjoying this,” one commentator quipped in a clip of the race shared via the NBC’s Olympics social media pages. A second commentator joked, “The biggest cheer of the day is not for any of the skiers so far.”
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On Wednesday’s episode of Today, Peter Alexander clarified that the animal is a Czechoslovakian wolfdog who belongs to a local native.
In a statement to Today.com, Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 said they were “aware that during the Cross-Country Skiing Women’s Team Sprint Free qualification at the Tesero Cross Country Stadium, a domesticated wolfdog briefly entered the lanes behind the athletes, shortly before they crossed the finish line.”
According to the statement, “The episode did not interrupt or interfere with the competition in any way. The animal was promptly secured and returned to its owner, from whom it had accidentally slipped away.”
Croatian skier Tena Hadzic recalled seeing the dog on the course in an interview with NPR on Wednesday. “I was like, ‘Am I hallucinating?’” she joked. “I don’t know what I should do, because maybe he could attack me, bite me.”
Hadzic said the incident was “not that big [a] deal,” and that she was not “fighting for medals or anything big.” She added, “But if that happened in the finals, it could really cost someone the medals, or a really good result.”
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Per NPR, the 2-year-old dog, named Nazgul, was returned to his home at a nearby bed-and-breakfast shortly after the race. Nazgul’s owners are reportedly related to an event official.
“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, who remained anonymous, told the outlet. “He always looks for people.” The owner affectionately described the dog as “stubborn, but very sweet.”
Needless to say, Nazgul’s Olympics debut sparked strong reactions from viewers online. “How cute is he! A little ‘nosey’ but adorable,” one X user wrote, referring to how the dog sniffed one of the athletes after the race. Another person tweeted, “You cross the finish line – one of the greatest achievements you could ever hope for as an athlete. And the moment is absolutely stolen by a dog that just was out for a stroll.
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Someone else shared, “They deserve a medal, and a treat.” A separate person posted, “We demand dogs and cats in all Olympic sports! Cats in curling next!
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