A very good dog interrupts women’s Olympic ski race

A surprise four-legged guest briefly joined the action at the 2026 Winter Olympics during the women’s cross-country skiing team sprint qualifying race on Wednesday, Feb. 18 — and quickly became the unofficial star of the event.

As athletes from Croatia and Australia crossed the finish line, a dog suddenly wandered onto the course. The pup paused to glance toward the cameras before appearing to notice the skiers and sprinting toward the finish behind them. (Hey, even canines can have Olympic dreams.)

A dog wanders on the ski trail during the women's team cross country free sprint qualification event of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games

A very good boy crosses the finish line.
Credit: Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP via Getty Images

“Anybody lost their dog?” on-course announcers joked, according to People‘s reporting. “It’s a fairly nice mutt there, not hindering anybody’s progress. One of those moments you have to laugh about.” They added that it was better that the interruption happened during qualifying rather than later heats.

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The Italian doggo, later identified as Nazgul, did not interfere with the competitors. After racers slid to the snow in exhaustion, the pup trotted over to sniff a few athletes before heading to the post-finish area, where Olympics volunteers greeted it with pets and belly rubs.

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The moment became even more official thanks to Omega SA, the Games’ official timekeeper. Its Scan’O’Vision ULTIMATE photo-finish camera automatically captured the dog crossing the line, giving the unexpected participant its own Olympic-style finish.

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According to NPR, the 2-year-old Czechoslovakian Wolfdog named Nazgul lives with his humans at a nearby bed-and-breakfast. He’s described as “stubborn, but very sweet.” Race organizers did not make Nazgul available for questions after his capture, NPR noted — but judging by his form, he may have a future in sprint events.

Before the canine cameo, Sweden’s Jonna Sundling and Maja Dahlqvist posted the fastest qualifying time at 6:29.94. In the final, Sweden secured gold, while Switzerland and Germany earned silver and bronze. Team USA’s Jessie Diggins and Julia Kern improved from seventh in qualifying to fifth overall.

As for the mystery dog, no owner immediately came forward — but for one brief sprint, it ran with the world’s best.

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