See A Very Good Boy Crash Olympics Ski Race In Sweet Viral Moment

the dog who crashed the women's cross country ski race at the 2026 olympics being held by officials
(Image credit: NBC Sports)

So much has been going on during the Milan Cortina Olympics on the 2026 TV schedule that television fans have barely had time to worry about when their favorite shows like Fire Country are returning. There’s been a lot of conversation about all the condoms athletes are using, people are intrigued by one skier’s “back abs,” and folks freaked out over doubles luge. Well, now everyone has something new to obsess over, as we can all watch as a dog crashes an Olympic ski race in a moment that’s gone viral.

What Happened When A Dog Crashed An Olympic Ski Race?

For many viewers, the Olympics are a time to enjoy watching the world gather for (generally) genial sporting events, and the 2026 Milan Cortina Games are no different. That doesn’t mean that there haven’t been some down moments, however, as we’ve seen things like skier Lindsey Vonn’s scary crash, and audiences having complaints about everything from the best way to stream the games to the crazy way those with a Peacock subscription have to watch the figure skating competitions.

If you've had any gripes about the games, though, all of your troubles will likely be swept away once you see the now-viral moment that a very good boy ran onto the course during a ski race. Just look at what happened in the video on the second slide, which was reposted on Instagram:

Wolfdog for the win! The event was the women’s cross country ski team sprint free race, and the animal appeared to have shown up just in time to join the action as two competitors, Croatia’s Tena Hadžić and Argentina’s Nahiara Díaz González crossed the finish line. As you can see in the video, this isn’t a wild dog, either, and NPR got the details on his origins.

Apparently, the pet’s name is Nazgul, and he’s a two-year-old Czechoslovakian wolfdog belonging to the owners of a nearby bed and breakfast. His owners had left home earlier in the day to attend another Olympic event, and because Nazgul is said to “always look for people,” he broke out of his doghouse and did just that. As one of the owners said:

He was crying this morning more than normal because he was seeing us leaving — and I think he just wanted to follow us…[He’s] stubborn, but very sweet.

Sweet, indeed. People are loving Nazgul’s performance, with commenters showing their approval:

  • an icon, truly!!
  • Bronze medal 🥉 🙌🙌🙌
  • Being chased by a wolf is the best legal performance enhancing
  • Please give Nazgul a medal immediately
  • Just trying to make it to the pawdium. 🥹

If anything, the outpouring of…pawsitive (I had to!) reactions to Nazgul crashing the race and crossing the finish line without incident shows that pretty much everyone loves to see a sweet pup doing sweet pup things, wherever they may be.

Adrienne Jones
Senior Content Creator

Covering The Witcher, Outlander, Virgin River, Sweet Magnolias and a slew of other streaming shows, Adrienne Jones is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend, and started in the fall of 2015. In addition to writing and editing stories on a variety of different topics, she also spends her work days trying to find new ways to write about the many romantic entanglements that fictional characters find themselves in on TV shows. She graduated from Mizzou with a degree in Photojournalism. 

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.