Out of an Olympic games full of upsets, crash-outs, and viral moments aplenty, one moment stands out among the rest. I’m speaking, of course, about Nazgul the Czechoslovakian wolfdog crashing the women’s cross-country team sprint preliminaries last Wednesday. Few athletes can transform a 20th-place (aka last place) photo finish into a moment of triumph, but that is the magic of Nazgul. Lil’ Naz is two years old and though his breed hails from Czechoslovakia, he trotted his way into the race representing his home country Italy. And it was easy to do, as his home is located not that far from the race. In the aftermath of their pup unwittingly becoming a global sports sensation, Nazgul’s parents Alice and Enrico Varesco would like the world to know that this was the first time ever Naz had broken out of the house:

The panic moment: “We were on the train to Anterselva to watch the biathlon,” Alice Varesco told Reuters on Friday. “We were three hours from home when friends started sending us videos. That was the panic moment. We realised we could not do anything.” For a few surreal seconds during the qualifying races, spectators thought a wolf had wandered onto the course. Instead, it was Nazgul, lean and silver-grey, ears pricked, locking onto the skiers ahead of him and instinctively joining the chase. He even appeared in an official photo finish image, which was how Alice and Ernesto Varesco ultimately confirmed it was their dog.

First time offence: “Concern, for sure,” Alice said of her first reaction. “It was with us the whole day actually. Even after they told us he was safe, we kept thinking about what could have gone wrong.” Nazgul had never previously got out of the house on his own and the Varescos think that, frustrated at being left behind, he may have nudged a lever repeatedly until it gave way before managing to get the door to the house open. “He wanted to look for us I think because he’s used … to going in that direction with us when we go for a walk,” Alice said. “He likes to stay with his crew.”

The camera, and world, love Nazgul: Race officials reacted quickly to the incursion. The race director managed to catch Nazgul inside the venue, and family members brought him home within half an hour. By early afternoon, the footage had travelled around the world. “Everyone was sending us videos and pictures. At a certain point we just closed the phone because it was impossible,” Alice added. “We were in Anterselva with small kids and we said we need to be here and we’ll look at everything later.”

Safety & security first: Security around Nazgul’s kennel has been tightened to prevent any repeat for the 50-kilometre races this weekend, which the family will watch from the balcony at home with their wolfdog firmly in sight. The Varescos are most of all relieved that Nazgul’s day out did not result in any injury or serious disruption. “We did not think this could be possible, but generally the reaction was people loved him,” Alice said. “And it’s good that nothing happened and it was going in a positive way, so everybody was happy.”

[From Reuters]

The persistence and ingenuity to keep nudging until the gates of the kennel and front door flung open? Two-year-old Nazgul deserves a gold medal just for that! But let’s be honest here, Nazgul had supernatural assistance in his feats that day. When the power of the ring is activated, no Nazgul — be they (undead) human or canine — can resist its call. Still, I do appreciate how sensitive the Varescos are to the two-footer athletes, expressing their relief that Nazgul didn’t disturb placements or cause injury to anything (other than egos, possibly). I also appreciate that Nazgul’s nonno gave due credit to Naz’s accomplishment after retrieving the pooch from Olympic officials, handwriting a sign outside the kennel that read “Nazgul world champion wolfdog.” While many of us (aka everyone on planet earth) were hoping to see Nazgul at the Closing Ceremony, Italy dropped the snowball on that. But let the undeniable fact never be forgotten that in a world gone rank with bitter rivalries and decaying values, for one shining moment we were united in our love of a dog who just wanted to join the race. That makes Nazgul the true lord of the Olympic rings.

photos are screenshots from YouTube