Stray dog steals spotlight at Winter Olympics cross-country race

A stray dog stunned viewers after running onto the course during the women’s cross-country skiing race at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.

The canine sprinted alongside athletes and crossed the finish line during the team sprint event, briefly stealing the spotlight before being removed from the track.

According to Norwegian website VG, the two-year-old Czech wolfhound named Nazgul had escaped from his home before somehow making his way onto the Olympic course.

Dog becomes Olympic star after joining race

Croatian skier Tena Hadzic told VG, “I was scared for a moment, because I don’t know what’s going to happen since it’s a dog. I don’t know, maybe when it sees a stick, I don’t know, maybe it gets scared and, I don’t know, bites me. At that second, I don’t know what to do.”

Argentine competitor Nahiara Diaz Gonzalez added, “Everyone is talking about the dog, it’s famous now! No, it was strange. I was coming down, I saw it, and I was kind of trying to feel or see what it was going to do while I was coming down, because I didn’t want to crash into the dog. But luckily it went well.”

Nazgul’s owner later came forward after the race to explain what happened and how the new furry Olympic athlete managed to join the competition.

“He just disappeared, ran away from home. He is a very kind dog, very stubborn, and very sweet. He always looks for people and is very social. He doesn’t hurt people,” the owner told VG.

Footage from the race has quickly gone viral, with the official Olympic Games X account even joining in the fun:

“And we have a surprise competitor at the cross-country skiing. It’s taking all of our strength to not just give our new dog friend all of the medals.”