A New Star in Olympic Cross-country Skiing has Emerged

The eyes of the world were drawn to an Olympic preliminary qualifying round in the women's cross-country skiing event in Tésero, Italy, on Wednesday. A large dog joined in the race and was even caught on Omega's official timekeeping camera as he crossed the finish line. Local news outlets and social media lit up at the appearance of what looked like a wolf running the race. But this wolf was wearing a collar. 

The dog was identified as a Czechoslovakian wolfdog named Nazgul, who belongs to a family who runs a local bed and breakfast. His owners speculated that Nazgul wanted to follow his family as they left for a different Olympic event, and he broke out of the house. While the wolfdog surprised and unnerved some of the competitors, his presence did not affect the results of the heat, since the qualifying skiers had already crossed the finish line. That's a good dog.