Others

Ten of the weirdest and wildest moments we saw at the Milan Cortina Olympics

February 23, 2026
eswar6424


VERONA, Italy — Of course, there were the medals. The jaw-dropping feats of skiing, skating, sliding, flying. The close finishes and glassy eyes atop the podium and dreams achieved and all that.

But, like any Olympics, there were also the breakout stars who often had nothing to do with the podium. With the Milan Cortina Games wrapping up, here are 10 of the weirdest, wildest things we saw at the 2026 Olympics.

Nazgul, a dog, runs the women’s cross-country team sprint

I watched this happen in person, and what impressed me the most about Nazgul’s performance in the women’s cross-country skiing team sprint was the way he ran down the finishing stretch like he belonged. Of course, he was disqualified — for missing the start, for only running the finish, for lacking a teammate to ski the other portion of the race, for his gender, for being a 65-pound Czechoslovakian Wolfdog. But they still gave him the photo finish.

Ikuma Horishima wins silver … backwards

After losing control and crashing on a landing out of a jump, Japan’s Horishima slid into a mogul that set him upright and sent him towards the finish of the men’s dual moguls. He crossed the finish line backwards, missing out on gold but still notching silver.

After winning bronze, Norwegian biathlete admits to infidelity

In sports, tears aren’t uncommon in a post-race interview. But tears after reaching the podium, declaring it “the worst week of my life” because of your own infidelity? A bit more eyebrow-raising. The moment launched Sturla Holm Lægreid and — without her say — his ex-girlfriend into the news all Olympics long. Lægreid ended up medaling in all five men’s medal events, winning three silvers and two bronzes.

Norway’s Sturla Holm Lægreid. (Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images)

French biathlete wins gold after conviction for teammate’s credit card theft

There’s just something about biathlon. In October, Julia Simon was found guilty of credit card fraud and theft of her teammate and a French team staff member and given a three-month suspended prison sentence. In Milan Cortina, Simon won three golds, including in the 15-kilometer individual race against the teammate she stole from, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, who finished in 80th.

Canada’s curling controversy

During round-robin play, Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson accused Canada’s Marc Kennedy of cheating by touching the stone after releasing it. “You can f— off,” Kennedy said towards the end of the game. A day later, an official called Canada’s Rachel Homan for doing the same — allegations both athletes denied. The Canadian men went on to win gold, while the women took bronze.

Marc Kennedy

Curling’s Fingergate, in its most heated moment. (Joel Marklund / Bildbyran / Sipa USA via AP Images)

Stoats’ moment in the spotlight

Milo and Tina, the Olympic and Paralympic mascots, quickly became breakout stars of these Games. The mini plush dolls quickly sold out in merch stores, and fans, volunteers and athletes hounded the mascots for photos all across Italy. I met one of the men inside the mascots: A 19-year-old student from Milan, who went looking for a job before re-enrolling in school come fall, and found himself inside the Tina costume.

Norwegian skier throws poles, walks into woods

A potential gold medal in his sights, those hopes disappeared for Norway’s Atle Lie McGrath — who was competing with a heavy heart after the recent death of his grandfather — when he straddled a gate in the slalom. Instead of finishing the run, McGrath threw his poles, took his skis off and went towards the woods to lie down.

“I thought I would get some peace and quiet, which I didn’t because photographers and police found me out in the woods,” he told the Olympic media service. “I just needed some time for myself.”

Norway’s Atle Lie McGrath. (Dustin Satloff / Getty Images)

American snowboarder celebrates, then lands in last

Nathan Pare celebrated winning the quarterfinal in men’s snowboard cross, booking his ticket to the semifinals. Then, he saw the official results: last. That’s because, in following other snowboarders outside their designated lines, Pare made contact with another snowboarder who fell, with the race jury ruling that Pare’s line led to the incident. Instead of advancing, he was handed a “Ranked as Last.”

A Canadian and an Australian skier tie — but only one takes gold

What happens when two skiers tie for first? We learned the answer at these Games, with Australia’s Cooper Woods and Canada’s Mikaël Kingsbury both finishing with 83.71 points in men’s freestyle skiing moguls. The athletes’ turn score — calculated by judges evaluating technical execution — decided the tiebreaker, with Woods having the edge over Kingsbury for gold.

Norway’s curling trick shot

With the bronze medal match against Switzerland a lost cause, Norway’s Magnus Ramsfjell delivered his final stone in style, taking a 360 spin on the ice before releasing it. The shot went viral, but Norway lost, 9-1.




Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *