For every Olympic Games, there are a number of unique moments, including the mascots who represent the Games and the communities hosting them. In honor of the newest Olympic mascots, here's a look back at all the Olympic mascots since they were introduced in 1968.
1968 Winter Olympics: Shuss
Shuss, a little man on skis, was created in a hurry ahead of the 1968 Games in Grenoble. His designer just had one night to prepare a plan for submission.
1972 Summer Olympics: Waldi
This dachshund was shaped like the Olympic marathon route in 1972 in Munich.
1976 Winter Olympics: Schneemandl
The official mascot for the second Winter Olympics was a snowman that wore a Tyrolean hat from the Innsbruck region of Austria.
1976 Summer Olympics: Amik
Amik, a beaver, was chosen after a national competition in Canada ahead of the Montreal Games.
1980 Winter Olympics: Roni
Lake Placid school children chose Roni, which means "racoon" in Iroquoian, the language of the Indigenous people from the state of New York.
1980 Summer Olympics: Misha
Misha is a bear, an animal that appears in many popular stories, songs and poems in Russia.
1984 Winter Olympics: Vučko
Wolves typically are found in Sarajevo, the site of the 1984 Winter Olympics, hence the mascot Vučko.
1984 Summer Olympics: Sam
The 1984 Olympics, held in Los Angeles, featured a friendly and cheerful eagle mascot named Sam.
1988 Winter Olympics: Hidy and Howdy
These two polar bears that were at the Calgary Olympics were intended to represent the region's hospitality and greetings.
1988 Summer Olympics: Hodori
The tiger, the mascot for the Seoul Summer Games, was named "Hodori." The animal frequently appears in Korean popular art and legends.
1992 Winter Olympics: Magique
Magique was the first mascot that was not an animal since 1976. The star-shaped mascot symbolized dreams and imagination at the Albertville Olympics.
1992 Summer Olympics: Cobi
Cobi, a human Pyrenean mountain dog, was a reference to COOB'92, the abbreviation for the Barcelona '92 Olympic Organizing Committee.
1994 Winter Olympics: Haakon and Kristin
Haakon and Kristin, the mascots for the 1994 Lillehammer Games, were references to historical figures from the 13th century.
1996 Summer Olympics: Izzy
The mascot for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta was Izzy -- an unusual mascot because he wasn't an animal, human or object.
1998 Winter Olympics: Sukki, Nooki, Lekki and Tsukki
The four snowy owls were mascots at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano.
2000 Summer Olympics: Syd, Olly and Millie
The Sydney Olympics featured Syd, a duck-billed platypus, Olly, a kookaburra and Millie, an echidna or spiny anteater.
2002 Winter Olympics: Powder, Coal and Copper
In Utah, the snowshoe hare, coyote and black bear were an homage to Utah's snow, natural resources and land.
2004 Summer Olympics: Phevos and Athena
Aptly named for the Athens Olympics, "Phevos" is another name for Apollo -- the god of light and music -- while "Athena" is the goddess of wisdom.
2006 Winter Olympics: Neve and Gliz
For the Olympics in Turin, "Neve" means snow and "Gliz" is a reference to the word "ghiaccio," which means ice in Italian.
2008 Summer Olympics: Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, Nini
At the first Olympics in Beijing, each of the mascots' names rhymed by repeating the same syllable.
2010 Winter Olympics: Quatchi and Miga
The Vancouver Games mascots were inspired by fauna and tales of the First Nations on Canada's West Coast.
2012 Summer Olympics: Wenlock
Wenlock's appearance came from one of the last drops of steel used to build London's Olympic Stadium.
2014 Winter Olympics: The Hare, the Polar Bear and the Leopard
The mascots for the Sochi Games were a reference to the three places on the Olympic podium.
2016 Summer Olympics: Vinicius
Vinicius paid tribute to Brazilian poet and lyricist Vinicius de Moraes at the Rio Olympics.
2018 Winter Olympics: Soohorang
The white tiger, South Korea's guardian animal, stood guard over the Olympics in PyeongChang.
2020 Summer Olympics: Miraitowa
Miraitowa's name comes from the Japanese words "mirai," which means future and "towa," which means eternity.
2022 Winter Olympics: Bing Dwen Dwen
A star in his own right, Bing Dwen Dwen, is a panda that symbolizes purity, strength and children.
2024 Summer Olympics: The Phryges
The personified Phrygian caps are representative of the French republic and freedom, and are present at major moments in French history.
2026 Winter Olympics: Tina and Milo
Sibling stoats Tina and Milo get their names from the Italian host cities Cortina d’Ampezzo and Milan.
