By the end of a cross-country skiing team sprint competition, the athletes are on the brink of collapse. The best teams complete their six-mile sprint in about 20 minutes. Their legs burn, and their lungs are exhausted. With the finish line in sight, almost out of breath, you can imagine how strange it would feel to see suddenly in front of you what looks like a big beautiful wolf.
"I was like, 'Am I hallucinating?" Tena Hadzic, a 21-year-old Croatian skier, told NPR. There on the course was a real, live, beautiful wolfdog. He appeared on the final stretch of the qualifying event Wednesday morning and raced along, pursuing the sliding track camera like a superstar before turning to follow a couple of athletes across the finish line. Look at him:
DOG AT THE OLYMPICSFULL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger.bsky.social) 2026-02-18T13:26:57.847Z
NPR spoke with the owners of this beautiful dog and learned many important facts. The dog is named Nazgul, and he is a two-year-old Czechoslovakian wolfdog who lives at a nearby bed and breakfast.
"He was crying this morning more than normal because he was seeing us leaving—and I think he just wanted to follow us," Nazgul's owner told NPR. Poor Nazgul! He just wanted to hang out and have a good time with his buddies! Thank god there were some nearby Olympic athletes going really fast on skis for him to see.
The athletes themselves didn't seem to care that much. It was only a qualifying race, and the medal contenders had already finished. "I became famous with a dog that came across the finish line, and everyone wants to interview me now," Greece's Konstantina Charalampidou said, via ESPN. "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."
Pretty rude that Nazgul was so swiftly taken away from the course! He didn't even have any media availability!
But you know what, it could have been worse. In the 1904 St. Louis Olympics, the regular Olympic marathon was held in 90-degree weather, and one of the South African runners was chased a full mile off-course by a pack of wild dogs. Nazgul is just one dog with a scary name. He has a home, and he didn't make anyone go off course. He was just a friend, and now he is an Olympian.






