A look at all the Olympic mascots throughout the years

Unofficially, the first Olympic mascot was born at the Grenoble Olympic games in 1968: Schuss, a little man on skis. 

The first official Olympic mascot was Waldi, a dachshund who appeared in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The dog represented the attributes required for athletes: resistance, tenacity and agility, according to Olympic.org. 

The first official mascot of a Winter Olympics was Schneemann, a snowman. He wore a red Tyrolean hat typically worn in Austria.

A national competition was held in Canada to find a name for this Olympic mascot. Amik, meaning beaver in Algonquin, the language of the North American Indians in Canada, according to Olympic.org. A beaver was chosen because it is the national symbol of Canada.

The name Roni was chosen because it means raccoon in Iroquoian, the language of the native people of Lake Placid, New York. 

Misha, a bear whose full name is Mikhail Potapych Toptygin, is a popular character in Russian fairy tales and stories, according to Olympic.org.

The 1984 Winter Olympics mascot was a wolf, an animal that is typically found in the forests of the Dinaric Alps region, according to Olympic.org. He symbolized the desire of humans to befriend animals.

Sam is a bald eagle, the national bird of the U.S., and a patriotic symbol. 

For the first time, the 1988 Winter Olympics had two mascots, twin polar bears Hidy and Howdy, who wore cowboy outfits. Their names were chosen after a contest was held by the Calgary Zoo.

The cheerful Hodori wore the Olympic rings around his neck. Tigers are common in Korean legends.

A star and a cube, Magique was the first mascot since the Innsbruck 1976 games that was not an animal. His star shape signified dreams and imagination. 

Cobi is a Cubist-style Pyrenean mountain dog. His name was chosen because it was easy to pronounce in any language.

This was the first time the mascots were, well, real people. The names Hakon and Kristin refer to historical figures from the 13th century in Norway. 

No one was really sure what Izzy was, and he was originally called, "Whatizit." Izzy was basically a blue blob with sneakers.

The Snowlets, the official owl mascots of the Nagano Olympics, were meant to symbolize peace, harmony and goodwill.

Syd was a duck-billed platypus, Olly was a kookaburra and Millie was a spiny anteater. They symbolized water, air and earth. Syd was a reference to Sydney, Olly to the Olympics and Millie to the new millennium. It was 2000, after all! 

The names Powder, Copper and Coal were inspired by Utah's natural resources: mainly, its snow and land.

Athena and Phevos were the mascots of the 2004 Summer Olympics, held in Athens, Greece. "Their creation was inspired by an ancient Greek doll and their names are linked to ancient Greece, yet the two siblings are children of modern times," according to Olympic.org.

These mascots were certainly on theme for the winter games: Neve was a snowball and Gliz was an ice cube. 

These mascots are known as the Fuwa, which means good luck in Chinese. Linking all five of their names: Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini, forms the sentence, “Welcome to Beijing.” 

Miga, Quatchi, and Sumi were the mascots for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Miga is a mythical sea bear, Quatichi is a sasquatch and Sumi is a animal guardian spirit.

Wenlock and Mandeville, the official mascots for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in London, were meant to resemble the Olympic stadium itself. They each have one large eye, and the yellow lights on their heads symbolize London's taxi cabs. 

The Sochi Olympics had three mascots: a hare, a polar bear and a leopard. They represented the three spaces on the Olympic podium.

Rio's Olympics mascot was a yellow cat-like creature named Vinnicus, and the mascot for the Paralympic games was Tom, a blue-and-green figure whose head is covered with leaves. They represented Brazil's rich fauna and wildlife, and their names were chosen to honor musicians Vinicius de Moraes and Tom Jobim.

Soohorang, a white tiger, is the official mascot of the 2018 Winter Olympics, and Bandabi, a black bear, is the official mascot of the 2018 Winter Paralympics. 

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games mascot Miraitowa and Paralympic mascot Someity wave on stage during the mascots' debut in Tokyo, Japan,on  July 22, 2018.

Beijing 2022 mascots Bing Dwen Dwen and Shuey Rhon Rhon are seen at Beijing Winter Olympic Village on January 28, 2022 in Beijing, China.