Underdog story: Surprise canine steals show in Olympic cross-country race

The four-legged interloper was close to running ahead of the athletes before stopping to sniff the competitor from Argentina at the finish line.

An unexpected competitor joined the 2026 Winter Olympics cross-country skiing course on Wednesday as teams were finishing up qualifiers.

The spectacle occurred when a dog wandered onto the ski trail as the women’s team cross-country free sprint qualification event was taking place in Italy, and began chasing after competitors from Argentina and Croatia as they crossed the finish line.

The four-legged interloper was close to running ahead of the athletes before stopping to sniff the competitor from Argentina at the finish line.

Many Olympic viewers on X were rooting for the dog, with one person writing, “i hope he wins.”

Omega, the official timekeeper of the Olympics, captured a photo of the dog crossing the finish line before the dog was escorted off the course.

Alaska-based journalist Nathaniel Herz spoke with the owner of the dog, named Nazgul after the Ringwraiths from The Lord of the Rings, according to Norwegian outlet VG.

“He just disappeared, ran away from home. He is a very kind, very stubborn, and very sweet dog. He always looks for people and is very social. He doesn’t hurt people,” the owner told the journalist of the two-year-old Czechoslovakian wolfdog.

The dog almost crashed into Argentina’s Nahiara Diaz Gonzales, who told VG that Nazgul is “famous now.”