--- description: Medalists at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics get a keepsake before the medal ceremony: Soohorang, the white tiger that is this year's mascot title: Why Olympic Medalists Get Stuffed Animals When They Win image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6d353780d99aea42/6989277b8fd2ee65df35ab0a/chloe-kim-stuffed-animal.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2018 Pyeongchang Olympics](/tag/2018-pyeongchang-olympics/) ## 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why Olympic Medalists Get Stuffed Animals When They Win by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 15, 2018 12:40 AM CUT  Gold medalist Chloe Kim celebrates during the victory ceremony after the women's snowboard halfpipe final event at the Phoenix Park during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games on February 13, 2018 in Pyeongchang. Gold medalist Chloe Kim celebrates during the victory ceremony after the women's snowboard halfpipe final event at the Phoenix Park during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games on February 13, 2018 in Pyeongchang.Loic Venance—AFP/Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 15, 2018 12:40 AM CUT If you’ve tuned in to the [2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games](http://time.com/5157237/shaun-white-united-states-gold-medals/ "undefined") this month, you may have been confused to see winning athletes being handed not [medals](http://time.com/5143796/winter-olympic-medals-by-country-2018/ "undefined"), but stuffed animals. Here’s what you need to know about why Olympic medalists are getting stuffed animals when they win. ## Why don’t the Winter Olympics winners get their medals right away?  Silver medalists Team Olympic Athlete from Russia, gold medalists Team Canada and bronze medalists Team United States celebrate during the medal ceremony after the Figure Skating Team Event at Medal Plaza on Feb. 12, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. Adam Pretty—Getty Images Viewers of the Summer Olympics may remember winners getting medals shortly after completing their events. But since there are fewer events in the Winter Olympics, organizers are able to hold a medal ceremony every night for that day’s winners. At the much busier and more crowded Summer Olympics, such a ceremony would be difficult to manage. ## What is the stuffed animal?  A plush toy of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games mascot Soohorang at a flower ceremony for the ladies' cross-country skiing individual sprint classic event during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, at the Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Centre Sergei Bobylev—TASS/Getty Images The keepsake that rewards Olympic medalists this year is a white tiger named Soohorang, the mascot of the [2018 PyeongChang Olympics](http://time.com/5151999/chloe-kim-gold-olympics-2018/ "undefined"). The tiger is an important figure in Korean culture — a regular tiger was the mascot of the [Seoul Olympics](https://www.olympic.org/seoul-1988-mascot "undefined") in 1988 — and the white tiger is especially revered. According to the [Olympic website](https://www.olympic.org/pyeongchang-2018-mascot "undefined"), the mascot takes its name from “sooho,” which means protection, and “ho-rang-i,” which means tiger. The name is also a reference to “Jeong-seon A-ri-rang,” a folk song from the Gangwon Province where the games are taking place. “The Soohorang is very cute and very pretty,” PyeongChang organizing committee spokesperson Sung Baik You [told _USA Today_](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/winter-olympics-2018/2018/02/13/medalists-2018-winter-olympics-get-precious-keepsake-and-medal/332267002/ "undefined"). “The athletes who have received the Soohorang have been very happy with it.” ## What happened to the flowers? Previous [Olympic Games](http://time.com/5155540/athletes-who-have-died-competing-in-the-olympics/ "undefined") have seen athletes awarded bouquets of flowers, but at the 2016 Rio Olympics flowers were deemed [unsustainable](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/14/sports/olympics/no-flowers-at-medal-ceremonies-rio-games.html "undefined"). The floral tradition does live on in Soohorang’s hat, which is adorned with paper flowers; according to the PyeongChang 2018 website, the symbol is a nod to “[Uhsahwa](https://www.pyeongchang2018.com/en/news/lead-pyeongchang-2018-unveils-podiums-costumes-for-victory-ceremonies "undefined"),” paper flowers given to those who passed their national exams during Korea’s Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). ## So … can I buy one?  A girl seen by suffed toys of Soohorang and Bandabi, the official mascots of the 23rd Winter Olympic Games and the 12th Winter Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang respectively, on sale in the Olympic Village ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Valery Sharifulin—TASS/Getty Images You may not be able to compete for gold, but in one way you could be like Chloe Kim, Red Gerard and the other medalists: for $55, you can buy [your own Soohorang on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072R1X947/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time037-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B072R1X947&linkId=23c8716f6777c7f7366634b7e27d771f "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5157532/stuffed-animals-pyeongchang-olympics-2018/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5157532/stuffed-animals-pyeongchang-olympics-2018/"},"headline":"Why Olympic Medalists Get Stuffed Animals When They Win","datePublished":"2018-02-15T00:40:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:58:06.944Z","description":"Winners get to take home white tiger keepsakes this year","url":"https://time.com/5157532/stuffed-animals-pyeongchang-olympics-2018/","keywords":["2018 Pyeongchang Olympics","Winter Olympics","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6d353780d99aea42/6989277b8fd2ee65df35ab0a/chloe-kim-stuffed-animal.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6d353780d99aea42/6989277b8fd2ee65df35ab0a/chloe-kim-stuffed-animal.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SNOWBOARD-OLY-2018-PYEONGCHANG-PODIUM","caption":"SNOWBOARD-OLY-2018-PYEONGCHANG-PODIUM","creditText":"Loic Venance—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2018-pyeongchang-olympics/","name":"2018 Pyeongchang Olympics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5157532/stuffed-animals-pyeongchang-olympics-2018/","name":"Why Olympic Medalists Get Stuffed Animals When They Win"}}]}] ```