Watch this very good dog named after Lord of the Rings character steal show during Olympics cross-country skiing

The Winter Olympics always deliver drama. Grit. Heart-pounding finishes. But during a cross-country skiing team sprint this week, a four-legged scene-stealer turned a grueling race into something unforgettable.

By the time athletes hit the final stretch of the six-mile sprint, their bodies hovered near empty. Elite teams finish in roughly 20 minutes, legs shaking, lungs burning. Then, out of nowhere, what looked like a wolf appeared on the course, per Defector.

“I was like, ‘Am I hallucinating?’” Croatian skier Tena Hadzic told NPR. She was not. Charging down the track was a real Czechoslovakian wolfdog named Nazgul, a two-year-old escape artist with perfect timing.

(: @NBCOlympics, via @sbnation)pic.twitter.com/fEXWuouMeR

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 18, 2026

The dog burst onto the snow during the closing moments of the qualifying race and began chasing the moving track camera like he had trained for this stage. For a few surreal seconds, he matched the skiers stride for stride before veering toward the finish line and crossing alongside competitors.

Athletes kept pushing. The medal favorites had already secured their spots, and this heat only determined qualification. Greece’s Konstantina Charalampidou later joked about the sudden fame the moment brought her. “I became famous with a dog that came across the finish line,” she said, according to ESPN. “He was cute but not aggressive. I wanted to pet him, but I didn’t have the time.”

A Lord of the Rings Name, Olympic-Level Energy

Nazgul lives at a nearby bed and breakfast with his owners. They told NPR he grew restless that morning. “He was crying this morning more than normal because he was seeing us leaving,” one owner said. “I think he just wanted to follow us.”

And follow he did.

Named after the ominous ringwraiths from The Lord of the Rings, Nazgul looks part wolf, part snow spirit. Yet his Olympic cameo felt more playful than menacing. He chased a camera, trotted beside world-class athletes, and briefly turned a punishing endurance event into a viral highlight.

Officials quickly removed him from the course, restoring order before any chaos unfolded. No athlete reported injury. No race result changed. Instead, the moment added levity to an otherwise punishing competition.

Dogs get loose. It happens. On this day, one adventurous wolfdog found the world’s biggest winter stage and decided to sprint with it.

And for a few breathless seconds, Nazgul did not just interrupt the Olympics. He owned it.

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