{"id":8847,"date":"2026-02-21T11:55:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T11:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=8847"},"modified":"2026-02-21T11:55:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T11:55:16","slug":"four-legged-intruder-nazgul-sparks-shock-laughter-and-fear-on-olympic-ski-track","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=8847","title":{"rendered":"Four-Legged Intruder Nazgul Sparks Shock, Laughter And Fear On Olympic Ski Track"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nazgul, a two-year-old Czechoslovakian wolfdog that wandered onto the cross-country race course in Tesero, Italy during Olympic competition Feb. 18, in an image captured by the official finish line camera for the event.<\/p>\n

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Courtesy of Omega<\/span><\/p>\n

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LAGO DI TESERO, Italy \u2014 A local dog made a bid for Olympic glory Wednesday morning, breaking out of his doghouse and onto the homestretch of the cross-country ski course in the middle of a race.<\/p>\n

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Two-year-old Nazgul was quickly collared by race officials and returned unharmed to his home at a nearby bed-and-breakfast, but not before his genial presence lit up television sets and social media channels around the world \u2014 even if he perplexed some of the athletes who encountered him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018Am I hallucinating?\u201d said Tena Hadzic, a 21-year-old Croatian skier who encountered the dog on her trip down the homestretch. \u201cI don\u2019t know what I should do, because maybe he could attack me, bite me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A dog later identified as a local named Nazgul sprints across the snow at the Winter Games.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Anne-Christine Poujoulat\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Race organizers did not make Nazgul available for questions after his capture.<\/p>\n

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