Have you ever asked yourself how much faster athletes would move toward the finish line if they were being chased down by an animal?
We got a hint of an answer on Wednesday as a Czechoslovakian wolfdog founds its way to the women’s cross-country free sprint qualification event and applied some pressure on a couple of competitors nearing the finish line.
“I was like, ‘Am I hallucinating?’” said Croatia’s Tena Hadžic. “I don’t know what I should do, because maybe he could attack me, bite me.”
The immediate panic is understandable, as several wondered if it was instead a coyote or maybe even a younger, smaller wolf. The biggest giveaway that it is domesticated was that it did have a collar around its neck. Argentina’s Nahiara Diaz was the other skier approaching the finish line.
Unsurprisingly, it was the wolfdog that received the loudest cheers at the finish line.
How did this happen?
According to NPR, the dog’s name is Nazgul and lives with his owners nearby. Nazgul may have been upset that he was being left alone as the owners left to watch a different Olympic event.
“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 — who remained anonymous to protect Nazgul — said. “He always looks for people.”
Wolves are generally much bigger than dogs, but wolfdogs in particular can approach similar heights with the weight a significant factor in distinguishing them.
As far as the competitors are concerned, it’s certainly a positive that this happened with as low as the stakes could’ve been relative to the situation. Hadžic and Diaz finished 19th and 24th, respectively, so they were well out of contention to make the finals of the event.
Canada’s Alison Mackie and Liliane Gagnon finished third, and so they will be hoping this distraction isn’t something they have to contend with in the medal round.
“It’s not that big deal, because I’m not fighting for medals or anything big,” Hadžic said. “But if that happened in the finals, it could really cost someone the medals, or a really good result.”