What are the small stuffed animals being presented at the Winter Olympics?
If you’ve been watching the Pyeongchang Olympics, you might be noticing the winners receiving something besides a medal on the podium.
The 2018 Winter Olympics are well underway, and if you’ve been watching, you’ll notice that the medalists aren’t initially being presented with their medals. Instead of receiving their bronze, silver, or gold directly after their event, they get a cute stuffed tiger named Soohorang, the official mascot of the games!
Here’s what happens, according to the International Olympic Committee: Last December, it was announced that instead of flowers, winners would receive a stuffed tiger. A white tiger, which has become the mascot of these Games, is considered to be South Korea’s guardian animal. How better to honor someone who has won his or her event in the Olympics than to give them a cute version of the guardian animal of South Korea!?
The tiny stuffed tigers also has another nod to the nation’s history: the hat they wear, bearing small paper flowers. The paper flowers, or “uhsahwa,” were given to people who passed their exams during the Joseon Dynasty from 1392 to 1910. Talk about a bunch of history! You can tell these plush stuffed tigers are rooted with symbols of success, from guardian animals to passing exams.
Instead of taking the time to do the medal ceremony right after the games, like at the Summer Olympics, the small stuffed animal ceremony allows for more time during the day for competitions.
At night, all the winners of that day come together to receive their medals. This makes more sense because the Winter Games have fewer competitions during the day. If you’re looking to see your favorite athlete get his or her medal, NBC will upload videos of the ceremony, and you can also download the schedule to see when to watch (or record, depending on what time it is).
This is an interesting change from the last Olympics, where winners would receive flowers. This way, the winners are getting a bit of the history of where the games are taking place. It might not be a medal, but it’s still pretty cool!
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