Winter Olympics risks 'disaster' as cross country skiers chased to finish line by surprise competitor

The 2026 Winter Olympics have been full of surprises so far. However, the latest incident to court headlines might just be the wildest yet, as a dog appeared to gatecrash a cross-country skiing event at the games in Italy.

For those who don't already know, cross-country skiing is a winter sport and recreational activity that involves skiing over snow-covered terrain, typically over long distances. Traditionally, it's an animal-free event - but not this year, it seems.

Footage shows the wolf-like-dog being drawn to the camera before chasing down competitors from Croatia and Greece as they crossed the finish line in Italy.

"I thought: What on earth is a dog doing here?" Argentina's Nahiara Gonzalez Diaz said.

While Swedish skier Jonna Sundling called it 'cute', her Norwegian rival Astrid Oyre Slind admitted: "A dog is my least problem, a Swede is my biggest."

It turns out the dog is named Nazgul, after the ringwraiths in The Lord of the Rings, and was simply looking for his owner.

The owner told Norwegian outlet VG that the pup 'just disappeared' and 'ran away from home'.

"He is a very kind dog. Very stubborn, very sweet and very social," the owner continued.

"He always seeks contact with people. He doesn't hurt people."

Over on X, viewers were shamelessly rooting for Nazgul to win, as one person tweeted: "Cool Runnings! Enter that dog for French Winter Olympics 2030."

"Only at the Olympics do you get world-class athletes… and a random dog stealing the spotlight," another penned

Not everyone, however, was as happy to see the dog.

i hope he wins pic.twitter.com/2MGnrzP7Zz

— mathilda (@thildakm) February 18, 2026

Skiing expert Fredrik Aukland thought the potential of a loose animal running onto the track 'could have been a disaster'.

Croatia's Tena Hadzic feared it would bite her, adding: "At first I thought it was a wolf, and that I was hallucinating because of the strenuous race.

"It was extremely large, and as I ran past it, I was afraid it might bite me.

"The fact that he even made it onto the track isn't good.

"For me, it's not a big deal since I'm not competing for a medal.

"But if that had happened in the final, where medals are at stake, it could have been dangerous."

Although, last-placed Greece contestant Konstantina Charalampido pointed out that 'he was very well-behaved'.

"He followed the camera on the finishing straight, was cute, and thankfully didn't disrupt the race," she added.

"It was funny. He made me forget about the race, because it wasn't good. Thanks to him, I'm famous now, so I have to thank him."

Dogs have featured a few times at this year's Winter Olympics, with one sitting on the sidelines wearing a Team USA jersey during the figure skating.

A video from earlier this week showed a playful hound interrupt the downhill ski race, slipping and sliding through the ice.