LAGO DI TESERO, Italy — Give that dog a medal.
A determined canine stole the show during qualifying for the women’s cross-country team sprint at the Winter Olympics on Wednesday. The dog broke free from its owner and crossed the finish line before it was finally coaxed off the course, ESPN reported.
The crowd in Tesero cheered loudly for Nazgul, a 2-year-old, “stubborn, but very sweet” Czechoslovakian wolfdog. His efforts overshadowed those of the human competitors in the race -- Croatia’s Tena Hadzic and Argentina’s Agustina Groetzner, Sports Illustrated reported.
“The biggest cheer of the day and it’s not for any of the skiers so far,” NBC Sports commentators said. “That’s true speed, down the finishing straight. Magnificent. Global wildlife, domesticated.”
DOG ON THE COURSE AT OLYMPIC SKIING. 🚨
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 18, 2026
The late entry closes strong at the cross country finish line! pic.twitter.com/o4mO28tXXW
“I was like, ‘Am I hallucinating?” Hadzic, 21, told reporters. “I don’t know what I should do, because maybe he could attack me, bite me.”
The competitors in that heat and the dog did not earn a medal -- but Nazgul certainly showed some mettle as he crossed the finish line.
Generally speaking, the racers enjoyed the dog’s moment of fame.
“I became famous with a dog that came across the finish line, and everyone wants to interview me now‚" Greece’s Konstantina Charalampidou told reporters. “He was chasing the camera that goes up and down the finish line. He was cute but not aggressive. I wanted to pet him, but I didn’t have the time and I couldn’t find him afterwards.”
Olympic officials did not make Nazgul available for post-race interviews, NPR reported in tongue-in-cheek fashion.
Nazgul’s owner, who asked for anonymity because of the dog’s sudden notoriety, did speak. He is related to an event official who set up a brief interview with NPR.
“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 said. “He always looks for people.”
Nazgul’s antics did not impact the race, as it was a preliminary qualifying round and the top contenders for medals had already finished their runs, NPR reported.
But Hadzic conceded her initial reaction probably impacted her time by a few seconds.
“It’s not that big deal, because I’m not fighting for medals or anything big,” she said. “But if that happened in the finals, it could really cost someone the medals, or a really good result.”
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