NO ONE EXPECTED… a “four-legged athlete” to suddenly dash into the race amidst the tense women’s ski relay at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The dog appeared in a flash, striding alongside the athletes, leaving spectators in the stands and on screen speechless, unable to believe their eyes. In those brief seconds, the fiercely competitive atmosphere transformed into a moment that was both chaotic and… indescribably adorable. But what happened immediately after that “special athlete” crossed the finish line was the detail that made everyone smile all day long…

“Anybody lost their dog?” the on-course announcers joked during the women’s cross-country team sprint event

NEED TO KNOW

• A dog surprised the crowd — and the racers — at the 2026 Winter Olympics
• The pup crashed the course during the women’s cross-country team sprint qualifying race
• Sweden went on to take gold, besting the dog

Did Air Bud’s husky brother make it to the Olympics?

It sure looked that way during the women’s cross-country team sprint qualifying race on Wednesday, Feb. 18, when a dog suddenly crashed the course as the 2026 Winter Olympians were finishing.

As members of Team Croatia and Team Australia crossed the finish line, a dog appeared, first looking at the cameras before realizing there were athletes on skis to chase.

“Anybody lost their dog?” the on-course announcers joked, after saying, “it’s a fairly nice mutt there, not hindering anybody’s progress. One of those moments you have to laugh about.”

“But you know, better it happened now than during the group sprints, let’s put it that way,” they added.

After the racers slid to the ground in exhaustion, the dog went around to give them a sniff before heading off to the post-finish area with the other athletes and getting some good pets and belly rubs from the Olympics volunteers.

Before the dog decided to join the race, Sweden’s team of Jonna Sundling and Maja Dahlqvist finished first in the qualifying round with a time of 6:29.94. Team USA’s Jessie Diggins and Julia Kern earned a seventh place finish, 19.49 behind the leaders.

In the final round two hours later, Sweden held on for gold, as Switzerland and Germany took silver and bronze, respectively. Diggins and Kern improved to a fifth place finish.

To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.