A wolf-like dog stole the show in the cross-country race

There was plenty of intensity, historic achievements, and interesting details at the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. One particularly unusual moment happened today in the cross-country skiing race. An unexpected guest appeared during the competition. A husky joined the skiers and created quite a show on the finishing line. A two-year-old dog named Nazgul ran onto the course and followed Tena Hadžić and Konstantina Haralampido. The moment was captured by timekeepers and numerous cameras, and the dog’s owner later spoke about it.

“He simply disappeared — he ran away from home. He’s a very good dog. Very stubborn, very sweet, and very sociable. He always seeks contact with people. He doesn’t hurt anyone” said Nazgul’s owner.

Tena Hadžić of Croatia, who placed 19th in qualifying alongside her compatriot Ema Sobol, admitted she was startled when she saw the animal running near her.

“At first, I thought it was a wolf and that I was hallucinating because of the exhausting race. He was extremely big, and while I was skiing next to him, I was afraid he might bite me. The fact that he even got onto the course is not good. For me, it’s not a big deal because I’m not fighting for a medal. But if that had happened in a final where medals were at stake, it could have been dangerous” she said.

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Konstantina Haralampido, however, wasn’t frightened.

“Luckily, he was very well-behaved. He followed the camera along the finishing straight, he was cute and, thank God, he didn’t disrupt the race. It was funny. He made me forget about the race, because it wasn’t a good one. Thanks to him, I’m famous now, so I have to thank him,” said the Greek skier, who placed 26th in qualifying with Nefeli Tita. The Swedish pair Jonna Sundling and Maja Dahlqvist won gold, the Swiss duo finished second, and the Germans took bronze.