Feb. 18 (UPI) — Skiers competing in the qualifying round of the women’s cross-country team sprint at the Winter Olympics in Italy crossed the finish line with an unregistered competitor: an escaped dog.
The dog, a Czech wolfhound, was recorded by NBC Sports’ cameras as it followed Croatian skier Tena Hadzic across the finish line, eliciting cheers from the spectators.
“The biggest cheer of the day and it’s not for any of the skiers so far,” an announcer observes in the footage shared to the official NBC Olympics account on X.
The canine turned out to be a Czech wolfhound named Nazgul, after the ringwraiths from The Lord of the Rings.
Nazgul’s owner told NPR the 2-year-old dog is “stubborn, but very sweet.”
“He was crying this morning more than normal because he was seeing us leaving – and I think he just wanted to follow us,” the owner said. “He always looks for people.”
Nazgul was safely returned home after making his photo finish.