10 Olympic Mascots: How Many Can You Remember?

1. Munich

   

   Waldi was the first ever official mascot for the games. There had been Paloma the Jaguar in 1968 that got the ball rolling, but being unofficial does not make this list! Waldi represented that noble German breed of dogs, the dachshund and he represented the athletic attributes necessary for athletes. These are agility, resistance and tenacity. Oh and very tiny little legs. I suppose his nose may have helped in the 100 meters if there was a photo finish.

   This was the Olympics of Mark Spitz and Olga Korbut. It was unfortunately the Olympics which saw Palestinian terrorists break in to the Olympic Village and take eleven Israelis hostage, the tragic denouement of which was flashed around the world via TV.

   The Winners

   Rank	Country	Total Medals
   1	Soviet Union	99
   2	United States	94
   3	East Germany	66

2. Montreal

   

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   In the Algonquian language of Canadian Indigenous peoples, the word Amik means Beaver. This little guy was to symbolize all the hard work that athletes had to put in, in terms of preparation for the games. Not the most memorable of mascots, he was the butt of many a joke about his name (when translated in to English) and is not considered the most successful of mascots ever.

   Notable at this Olympics was the success of young gymnast Nadia Comaneci who scored seven perfect tens in the gymnastics events. Many suspected the Eastern European females gymnasts of being given hormones to stop the onset of puberty but the only female athlete to be given a sex test was Princess Anne of Great Britain, who was competing in the equestrian events. China withdrew because Canada would not recognize the People’s Republic of China – they would only admit the country as the Republic of China, so the Chinese went off in a huff. The event was a huge financial disaster for Montreal. They finally finished paying off their Olympic debt in 2006.

   The Winners

   Rank	Country	Total Medals
   1	Soviet Union	125
   2	East Germany	90
   3	United States	94

3. Moscow

   

   Ah, little Misha, the symbol of friendship between nations, with his little weight lifter’s belt! Misha was a huge success all over the world for children and as such was the first Olympic mascot to be truly marketed to death. He has his own animated cartoon TV show and also turned out to be a crossover mascot when he appeared in, amongst others, FIFA’s world cup marketing. He was well chosen, as the bear represents Russia, in a traditional but not very cuddly well. As this was the era of the Soviet Union one can only imagine what the grown ups living behind the Iron Curtain thought of him.

   This was not the most successful Olympics ever because the US, attempting to take the moral high ground, boycotted the games and persuaded 64 other countries to do so as well. The games were not without their highlights, however. One of them was the Soviet Union’s Vladimir Salnikov, who broke the fifteen minute barrier for the mens’ 1500 meter freestyle in swimming. This was the swimming equivalent of breaking the four minute mile!

   The Winners

   Rank	Country	Total Medals
   1	Soviet Union	195
   2	East Germany	126
   3	Bulgaria	41

4. Los Angeles

   

   Sam, the American Eagle was a fairly typical choice for the US when it came their turn to host the Olympics. The reason that he looks straight out of a Disney film was because he was designed by C Robert Moore who worked for the studio. Many people thought there was a cunning plot going on because he bore a striking resemblance to Eagle Sam, the host of the Disneyland attraction America Sings. Surely not! Sam proved not to be as popular as Misha – eagles aren’t as cuddly as bears even though they are less likely to kill you – but he did have a successful cartoon show on Japanese TV. A true symbol of the chauvinism of the times, he was the first ever Olympic mascot to bear the flag of his own country in his design. This has never happened again.

   Due to the cost of the Montreal Olympics in 1976, Los Angeles was the only city stupid enough, sorry, willing to make a bid for these games. As such, it won the bid by default. In a tit for tat retaliation, the Soviet Union and fourteen other Eastern bloc countries (with the exception of Romania who were not in thrall to the Soviets) boycotted these Olympics (sigh!), holding their own “Friendship Games” instead. The highlight for many was the first appearance of American athlete Carl Lewis who won four gold medals, equaling the record set by Jesse Owens way back when in 1936.

   The Winners

   Rank	Country	Total Medals
   1	United States	174
   2	Romania	53
   3	East Germany	59

5. Seoul

   

   Not the first endangered species to be used as an Olympic mascot – and certainly not he last, ladies and gentlemen – this Amur Tiger was used to portray the hospitality and friendliness of the Korean people. One can only hope he wasn’t a man eater! Ho is the Korean word for tiger (and something completely different in English in this day and age) and dori is a diminutive for boy. So, there you are, tiger boy! In the true sexist tradition of universal sport, there was female tiger called Horangi as well, but she has been sidelined by history. Well, first by the Koreans who decided to marginalize her, the swine!

   North Korea was still officially at war with the South so, guess what? Yes, they boycotted it, along with Nicaragua, Cuba and Ethiopia (huh?). However, they were the only spoilsports this time and this Olympics saw the largest amount of countries, 160 in total, competing in the event. Florence Griffith Joyner (FloJo anyone?) won three gold medals on the track and Ben Johnson set a new one hundred meters world record. But not for long. Greg Louganis hit a springboard with his head in the final of the three meter diving contest which was later to become a mild controversy because of his undisclosed HIV status. Sometimes, you look back and it could be the dark ages.

   The Winners

   Rank	Country	Total Medals
   1	Soviet Union	132
   2	East Germany	102
   3	United States	94

6. Barcelona

   

   “He’s a what?” asked the world when Cobi was unveiled. “Oh, silly me, of course! A Catalan sheep dog! Now why didn’t I see that?” OK, well this was Barcelona, after all, though many people later took his sniggering as a sign that the Spanish were laughing at the world (and especially the European Union) for pumping so much money in to the infrastructure of the then crumbling city. He was a successful mascot despite (or because of?) being inspired by Picasso and appeared in plenty of ads for companies such as Danone and Coca-Cola. The cobiana series of souvenirs also raked in millions. A pretty good performance, for an odd shaped Catalan sheep dog, you have to hand it to him!

   By now the Soviet Union had dissolved and so took part under a rather confusing banner, as the “Unified Team”. Not for long, chortled the world. The two Germanys had kissed and made up, so they competed under a single flag for the first time since 1936. Professional basketball players were allowed in for the first time, which meant that the US thrashed the rest of the world easily. Linford Christie of the UK won the one hundred meters at an amazing age for the event – the ancient thirty two years of age.

   The Winners

   Rank	Country	Total Medals
   1	Unified Team	112
   2	United States	108
   3	Germany	82

7. Atlanta

   

   If Sam the Eagle had left the rest of the world somewhat cold because of his obvious national allegiance then Izzy left the world with its first true WTF Olympic Mascot moment. Originally called Whatizit, this “thing” was a departure in more ways than one. It was the first mascot not to draw on a national animal or theme as its inspiration and as such drew ridicule from adults the world over. Children, however, tended to love Izzy and he had his moment of fame – a Nintendo game named after him. Hardly, Super Mario, can you put your hand up if you still play it?

   Some felt that Athens should have hosted these games as it was the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympics. However, there was no way the Greek city would have been ready on time, so it went to Atlanta. The games had a huge impact on the city – turning it in to the modern city it is today. Atlanta made the decision not to spend any public money, instead relying on ticket sales, which led some to bemoan the fact that the Olympics had become too commercial. The highlight? Mohamed Ali lighting the Olympic flame at the Opening ceremony.

   The Winners

   Rank	Country	Total Medals
   1	United States	101
   2	Russia	63
   3	Germany	65

8. Sydney

   

   The Australians made a much better go of their Mascots in 2000 (otherwise known as “The Kylie Olympics”). They expanded the amount of mascots, however, as they were bound to get it right with one of them! Three native Australian animals were chosen to represent earth, air and water. Trying to grab hold of the neck of the zeitgeist and not let go, Millie, an echidna was the techno wizardess, an image for the millennium. Olly was a kookaburra, representing generosity of spirit and Syd, the duck-billed platypus represented the environment. They never really took on, but were a brave attempt at capturing the spirit of the games and the times.

   Another financial disaster, over two billion Australian dollars were garnered from public funds for the event and Sydney showed no real upturn in tourism after the games. They set a new level for the opening and closing ceremonies, however, which Greece tried hard to out do (and failed) four years later. The highlight was, perhaps, that this was the first games to truly take the Paralympics seriously. Plus, a spotty seventeen year old with huge feet, Ian Thorpe, made his first appearance in the Olympic pool and strolled away with a new 400m freestyle world record. Go Australia! Oh, and China made its first appearance in the top three – at number three.

   The Winners

   Rank	Country	Total Medals
   1	United States	92
   2	Russia	88
   3	China	59

9. Athens

   

   Hmm, yes. A brother and sister couple, Athena and Phevos were based on ancient toys discovered by archeologists and as such may be seen as having the oldest pedigree of all the Olympic mascots we have had. Phevos was the god of light, Athena that of wisdom and as such, we can say so far so good! They are representative of the link between the modern Olympic Games and Greek athletic history.

   Although they did not get their own TV series, the two appeared on numerous souvenirs of the games. This was an odd pairing, however, as Phevus’ twin is actually Artemis, not Athena. Ho hum, never mind.

   Broadcasters from around the globe were, for the first time, allowed to show real time video coverage of the games over the internet. The only restriction was they had to keep it within their own geography to protect contracts agreed in other areas. China came in to the top three competing countries for the second time – and at number two. This is something it will be looking to improve on! For women, this was historic too: the US athlete Kristin Heaton became the first women to compete at the ancient Olympian site (though Yumukeudi Cumba of Cuba was the first female gold medal winner there!).

10. Beijing

    

    You have to hand it to the Chinese – they are clever. Five Olympic rings, five colors, so why not five mascots? The marketing ideas are endless. Why did no one think of it before – it seems so obvious now they are here in front of our inquisitive noses! Parents al over the world will be opening their wallets not once, but five times, as the toys come trundling by the lorry load in to Toys’R'Us the world over.

    So, say hello to the Fuwa. They each have a rhyming name. Beibei is the fish, Huanhuan the Olympic flame. Then there is Jingjing the panda and Yingying the antelope. Finally, there is Nini the swallow. All of these are names that very small children will be chanting very soon. These guys may well be the biggest thing since the Teletubbies. As a final coup de grace, when the first syllable of each of the names are placed together they form the sentence “Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni”. Translated, that means “Welcome to Beijing”. Inspired. Keep your children away from the television now! This may make the sub-prime crisis look like small change.

So, times change and so do our mascots. How many did you remember in the end?