Olympic Mascots Through the Years
Since 1968, it has been a tradition to have a mascot for each of the Olympic games. Take a peek at our photo gallery of Olympic mascots and then use the comments section to tell us which Olympic mascots you think were the wildest, craziest, weirdest and coolest.
1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France

“Schuss” was the very first unofficial Olympic mascot. The little man on skis appeared at the 1968 Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble, France.
1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany

“Waldi” the Dachshund appeared at the 1972 Summer Games in Munich, West Germany. He was the first official Olympic mascot. Dachsunds are a popular dog breed in Bavaria.
1976 Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria
1976 Summer Games in Montreal, Canada

“Amik” the beaver was the mascot in the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal, Canada. The beaver is one of the national symbols of Canada.
1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York

“Roni” the raccoon was the mascot at the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, N.Y. He replaced Rocky, a real raccoon, who died before the games began.
1980 Summer Games in Moscow, USSR

“Misha” was the mascot for the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow, USSR. The bear was the national symbol of the Soviet Union.
1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia

“Vučko” the wolf was chosen by readers of major Yugoslav newspapers to be the mascot for the 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.
1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles, California

“Sam” the eagle was the mascot at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles, California. He was designed by a Disney artist.
1988 Winter Games in Calgary, Canada

“Hidy” and “Howdy” were the mascots at the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, Canada. The bear siblings were the first dual mascots.
1988 Summer Games in Seoul, South Korea

“Hodori” the tiger was the mascot at the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, South Korea. Seoul also had a female mascot named “Hosuni.”
1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France

“Magique” the snow imp replaced a mountain goat to become the mascot for the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France.
1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain

“Cobi” the surreal sheepdog was the mascot at the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain. His design was influenced by the works of Picasso.
1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway

“Håkon” and “Kristin” are two children from Norwegian folklore dressed in Viking clothes. They were the mascots for the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway.
1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, Georgia

“Izzy” was the mascot for the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, Ga. Its name was short for “Whatizit?” because no one seemed to know what it was.
1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan

“Sukki, Nokki, Lekki and Tsukki” the snow owls were the mascots of the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. They replaced Nagano’s original mascot which was a weasel.
2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australia

“Ollie, Syd and Millie” were the mascots for the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australia. Ollie is a kookaburra, Syd is a platypus and Millie is an echidna.
2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah

“Powder, Coal and Copper” were the mascots for the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. The three animals are major characters in Native American legends and each wore a petroglyph charm around its neck.
2004 Summer Games in Athens, Greece

“Phevos and Athena” were the mascots for the 2004 Summer Games in Athens, Greece. They were inspired by ancient Greek dolls and named after Greek gods.
2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy

“Neve” the snowball and “Gliz” the ice cube were the mascots for the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy. They were chosen from more than 200 proposals.
2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China

The five “Fuwa” children were the mascots for the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China. Together, their five names form a Chinese phrase which means “Beijing welcomes you.”
2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada

“Quatchi” the sasquatch and “Miga” the sea bear were the mascots for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada. “Sumi” the thunderbird was the mascot for the Paralympic Games. “Mukmuk” the marmot was their sidekick.
2012 Summer Games in London, England

“Wenlock” was the mascot for the 2012 Summer Games in London, England. He represented drops of steel and was named after an English town which hosted the first unofficial modern Olympic Games in 1850.
2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia

The Leopard, the Hare and the Polar Bear were the mascots for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. They were selected by the Russian people during a live national TV broadcast by text message voting.
2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Vinicius, a mixture of all Brazilian animals, is the mascot for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is named for a bossa nova composer. Tom, a magical fusion of all the plants in the Brazilian forests, is the Paralympic Games mascot.
2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea

Soohorang, a white tiger, is the mascot for the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. According to tradition, the white tiger is Korea’s guardian animal and Soohorang represents the protection offered to all the participants of the Olympic games.
2020 Summer Games in Tokyo, Japan

Miraitowa (left) is the official mascot of the 2020 Summer Games (postponed to 2021) in Tokyo, Japan. It is named for the Japanese words for “future” and “eternity,” and it has the ability to teleport. Someity (right) is the mascot for the 2020 Summer Paralympics. It’s named after a type of cherry blossom and can fly.
2022 Winter Games in Beijing, China

Bing Dwen Dwen is the mascots for the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, China. The panda wears a full-body shell of ice which helps the mascot skate, snowboard and ski alongside the Olympic athletes.
2020 china was my favorite and i agree with non of your Business they do look like marshmellos
Tuesday, February 08, 2022 (2022 Winter Olympics Day #4)….As of Today, Tuesday, February 08, 2022 (2022 Winter Olympics Day #4), the United States of America Olympic Team has won one (1) Gold Medal, five (5) Silver Medals, and one (1) Bronze Medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics Athletic Competitions. Did any of the United States of America 2022 Olympics Team earn the Presidential Physical Fitness Award awarded to public school students when the athletes were students in public school or when the athletes were registered youth members in the Boy Scouts of America, SCOUTS B.S.A.?
the 2006 look like marshmallows.
2012 is definitely the best! Drops of steel sounds so cool. I remember playing an Olympic video game, featured in 2012 and that mascot was in there.
I like the 2020 ones and the 2000 Olympic mascots. They’re so cool!
Miraitowa Is my favorite by far!
SICK!!!!!!!
shawn white is crazy
looks great
I like all of them cause they mean something to each country
2016 = AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well YEAH 2016’s mascots were sick. Swear, the 3d animation of the mascosts is better than ones made of wool. Plus, 2018’s mascot was great. And during the opening ceremony, they LITERALLY put a digital display of Soohorang and the country’s name during the Parade o’Nations on the seats.
2016 is real cooooool oh and 2018 hey don’t they have that blue koala
I don’t understand the mascot thing
Ashton loves you!
2010 is my favorite, 2014 is dumb, and 2012 is just creepy. Just… creepy..
USA! USA! LETS GO USA!!!
THe one on the top
I liked the Bears the Raccoon the Wolf and SOCHI!!!
i like 2016 and 2010
I love the Sochi Russia ones. They’re totally the best. The ones for Rio are weird
Huh I never new that soviet russia was part of the olimpic games, go figure
Interestingly, America boycotted the Soviet games and did not participate that year
lol
Does anybody out there know what issue of boys life magazine all these Olympic mascots are from? If you do, can you please ×10 let me know back a.s.a.p.?!. Thank you!. 🙂
2012 All the way! Go London
I love the 1976 beaver.
I think the mascots get better each year.
Seoul is the best!!!!!!!!!!!!
I like the 2010 and 2014 the best. The 2012 is just creepy.
2012 is the best!
Vancouver is the best!!!!!!!
2012 mascot looks like something in your nightmare
You’re right. Why does it look like that? What was London thinking? Maybe they got tired of small children whining( about the Olympics being boring, wich they aren’t) during the program.
2014’s leopard is by far the best!
I like 1976. It’s so weird.
I like the 1970 Sarajevo one, he’s cool. Also, they didn’t give the names of the 2014 mascots in the Boys Life magazine. Lastly, the names of the Beijing mascots, when rearranged in the right order, spell out “Welcome to Beijing” in Chinese.
Waldi is the coolest!
I love 2012 and 1980
So funny