Animals, snowmen, and… whatzits: Olympic mascots through time…

The Olympics didn't have an official mascot until 1972. A multi-colored dachshund dog named 'Waldi' captured the spirit of the Olympics in Munich, Germany that year.

Since then there have been animal mascots, imaginary characters, mythical creatures and even a cyclops mascot that was based on the material used to build an Olympic stadium. Check out just some of the many that have come to symbolize the Olympic Games and athletic spirit:

Waldi - Munich 1972 Olympic Games

Waldi was the first official mascot. This colourful dachshund was based on a real dog named Cherie von Birkenhof. Dachshunds are known for their endurance, tenacity and agility. These dogs were very popular in Germany at the time. Cool fact: The Olympic Games marathon route was in the shape of Waldi's head!

Schneemann - Innsbruck 1976 Winter Olympic Games

Schneemann, the first official mascot of the Winter Games, has an appropriate name: it means "snowman" in German. His little red hat — called a tyrolean — was a traditional hat of the region that hosted the games. Cool fact: Schneeman turned out to be a very popular mascot! So popular, in fact, that spectators bought t-shirts, keychains, soft toys and glassware with Schneeman on it.

Amik - Montreal 1976 Olympic Games

Not only is the beaver a symbol of Canada, it's also an animal known for its patience and hard work. What a perfect mascot for the Olympics in Canada! Cool fact: A national competition was held to find a name for the mascot and the name Amik was selected. Amik means 'beaver' in the Algonquin language.

Roni - Lake Placid 1980 Winter Olympic Games

This was the first time in Olympic history that a mascot was featured playing different sports. The name — Roni — was chosen from 400 entries in a competition aimed at school children. Cool fact: Roni means 'raccoon' in the Iroquois language. Misha - Moscow 1980 Olympic Games

Misha was designed by a well-known children's book illustrator Vixtor Chizhikov. Prior to the Olympics, Misha was launched into space to spend time on the Salyut 6 space station — how cool is that? At the end of the Closing Ceremony of the Games, an enormous Misha said a tearful goodbye to the crowd and was lifted off by balloons and disappeared into the sky. Cool fact: The bear's full name is Mikhail Potapych Toptygin.

Vučko - Sarajevo 1984 Winter Olympic Games

Vučko the wolf mascot for Sarajevo was chosen in a contest entered by over 800 participants. Not only is the wolf a prominent figure in Yugoslavian fables, it embodies courage and symbolises winter. Cool fact: Vučko helped change people's ferocious perception of the wolf.

Sam - Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games

Designed by Disney legend Bob Moore, Sam was the Olympic mascot for Los Angeles 1984. The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States and a perfect choice for these Games. In addition to his mascot duties Sam was featured in a cartoon as a detective who used the magic of the five Olympic Rings. Cool fact: Sam was actually the runner up!

Hidy and Howdy - Calgary 1988 Winter Olympic Games

These friendly polar bears dressed in Western-style outfits are Hidy and Howdy! They represent hospitality in Canada's West. Hidy is an extension of "hi", and Howdy is short for "how do you do?" Cool fact: A group of representatives from department stores in Calgary decided on the mascot. They chose the polar bear since it remains active in the winter.

Hoduri - Seoul 1988 Olympic Games

The tiger frequently appears in Korean popular art and legends, and is often associated with humour, bravery and nobility. Hoduri, the tiger mascot, wears the sangmo — a traditional Korean hat — and if you look closely, the ribbon on his hat is an S shape — for Seoul. Cool fact: "Ho" of Hodori comes from the Korean word for tiger, while "dori" is a common masculine diminutive.

Cobi - Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games

Meet Cobi! He is a Pyrenean mountiain dog in Picasso's infamous "Cubist" style (Picasso is a famous Spanish painter!). Though he has only three hair spikes, apparently he has an impressive wardrobe. This mascot was featured in 26 episodes of The Cobi Troupe cartoon, which focused on the adventures of Cobi and his friends. Cool fact: The name Cobi was selected as it is easy to pronounce.

Magique - Albertville 1992 Winter Olympic Games

Magique is a little cube and star-shaped imp, which symbolizes dreams and imagination. He was used as a teaching aid in various games and learning modules which were created for the 7,924 Games volunteers. Cool fact: Magique was the first non-animal mascot since Innsbruck 1976.

Haakon and Kristin - Lillehammer 1994 Winter Olympic Games

These two happy children were the first mascots in human form. Their names refer to historical figures from the 13th century — Håkon IV Håkonson, King of Norway, and Princess Kristin, his aunt — who are very important to the history of Norway and the Lillehammer region. Cool fact: Eight pairs of Norwegian children, aged 10 to 11, each representing a region in the country, were selected to play the role of the "living mascots".

Izzy - Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games

Izzy was originally called "Whatizit," which is appropriate since this mascot isn't an animal, a human or an object. His name was chosen by American children from over 3,000 suggestions from children in 16 different countries. Cool fact: Izzy was a hero of a video game called, Izzy's Quest for the Olympic Rings.

Sukki, Nokki, Lekki and Tsukki - Nagano 1998 Winter Olympic Games

These four owls are also known as Snowlets, They each come together to represent the four elements and four years that make up an Olympiad: Sukki (fire), Nokki (air), Lekki (earth) and Tsukki (water). Cool facts: The four Snowlets' names were chosen from among 47,484 suggestions. Syd, Olly and Millie - Sydney 2000 Olympic Games

This is the first time in Olympic history that there were three official mascots: Syd is a reference to Sydney, Olly to the Olympics and Millie to a new millenium. Syd is a duck-billed platypus, Olly is an echidna, and Millie is a spiny anteater — three typical Australian animals. Cool fact: Australia wanted to highlight other lesser-known animals, which is why they left the kangaroos and koalas out.

Powder, Coal and Copper - Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympic Games

For the 2002 Winter Olympics, over 42,000 school kids submitted ideas for the mascot's names. The final choices reflect Utah's natural resources and landscape: Powder is a snowshoe hare, Copper is a coyote and Coal is a black bear. Cool fact: Their necklaces are in the style of the Anasazis or Fremonts, who are First Nations people from this region.

Phevos and Athena - Athens 2004 Olympic Games

The names of the Athens' mascots are a reference to two ancient gods of Olympus: Phoebos is another name for the god of music and light (Apollo), and Athena is another name for the goddess of wisdom. Phevos wears blue to symbolize the sea and Athena wears orange to symbolize the sun. Cool fact: They are modelled after a terracotta doll in the shape of a bell from the 7th century BC, called the “daidala”.

Neve and Gliz - Turin 2006 Winter Olympic Games

You can tell by their shape of their heads, but in Italian Neve means "snow" Gliz is short for the word ghiaccio means "ice". So it's no surprise that one is a snowball and one is an ice cube. Together, they make the perfect conditions for Winter Olympics. Cool fact: Neve symbolizes harmony and movement, while Gliz channels power and strength.

Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini - Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

Each mascot is an animal that brings a fortune: Beibei (blue) is a fish that wishes prosperity; Jingjing (black) is a panda that wishes happiness; Yingying (yellow) is an antelope that wishes good health; Nini (green) is a swallow that wishes good luck; and Huanhuan (red) is fire that brings passion of sport. Cool fact: Their names "Bei Jing Huan Ying Nin" says "Welcome to Beijing". Quatchi and Miga - Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games

Quatchi and Miga were inspired by tales of the Canadian West Coast First Nations. Quatchi is a sasquatch and Miga is a sea bear, a mythical animal that is part killer whale and part Kermode bear. They have a friend called Mukmuk, inspired by a marmot that lives only on an island in Vancouver. Cool fact: The Kermode bear, also called “spirit bear" is only found in British Columbia.

Wenlock - London 2012 Olympic Games

According to legend, Wenlock was made from one of the last drops of steel used to build the Olympic Stadium: his forehead is the same shape as the roof; his eye is a camera lens, and the three points on his head represent the three places on the podium. Cool fact: London used 84 sculptures of the mascots to help guide tourists during the Games.

The Hare, the Polar Bear and the Leopard - Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games

These mascots were selected after a nation-wide contest was held. They received a total of 24,048 drawings and final decision was voted on by the Russian public as part of a TV program. Cool fact: They were featured on a new 25-ruble coin — that's Russian currency!

Vinicius - Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Vinicius is a mix of different Brazilian animals and represents the diversity of the Brazilian people and culture — with a little bit of gaming, pop culture and animation thrown in. His name pays tribute to Brazilian musician Vinicius de Moraes. Cool fact: Vinicius's design represents the "agility of cats, sway of monkeys and grace of birds." And his arms and legs can stretch enormous distances!

Soohorang - PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games

"Sooho” is a Korean word meaning “protection”, in this case for all the Games participants and spectators. The word “Rang” comes from “horang-i”, which means “tiger” in Korean and is also found in “Jeongseon Arirang”, a traditional folk music of the Gangwon Province, where PyeongChang is located. Cool fact: Soohorang and Bandabi, the mascot for the Paralympic Games, have their own emoticons in a popular Korean phone messaging app.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/cbckidsolympics/blog/the-history-of-olympic-mascots