--- description: So why do they throw Winnie the Pooh at figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu? There's a whole history between Japan's top figure skater and the bear. title: Here's Why People Throw Winnie the Pooh at Japanese Figure Skater Yuzuru Hanyu image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta03a8cb9a00d7cca/698927e50a4a2233249d1ccd/gettyimages-918871950.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here's Why People Throw Winnie the Pooh at Japanese Figure Skater Yuzuru Hanyu by [Ashley Hoffman](/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 16, 2018 1:56 PM CUT  Kids collect plush toys of Winnie the Pooh after Japanese Yuzuru Hanyu's performance during the men's figure skating event at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Ice Arena. Valery Sharifulin/TASS (Photo by Valery SharifulinTASS via Getty Images) Kids collect plush toys of Winnie the Pooh after Japanese Yuzuru Hanyu's performance during the men's figure skating event at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Ice Arena. Valery Sharifulin/TASS (Photo by Valery SharifulinTASS via Getty Images)Valery Sharifulin—Valery Sharifulin/TASS by [Ashley Hoffman](/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 16, 2018 1:56 PM CUT When Japanese figure skater [Yuzuru Hanyu](http://time.com/5162157/yuzuru-hanyu-japan-figure-skating-short-program/ "undefined") won the short program at the Olympic games on Thursday, the weather report inside the arena changed from clear skies to a steady downpour of Winnie the Pooh bears. As Hanyu finished his immaculate routine to a chorus of applause, fans tossed scores of stuffed bear toys from the iconic A. A. Milne franchise onto the ice. It was an overwhelming number of bears, leading many people watching at home to ask why they were witnessing such a large-scale doll sacrifice. ## **Why do they throw Winnie the Pooh?** There’s a reason behind all those “little cubs all stuffed with fluff.” It’s not unusual to see Hanyu keeping company with his plush friends. In fact, it’s a long-running tradition. It all started in 2010, when fans spotted Hanyu carrying around a Winnie the Pooh tissue box, [according to NBC](http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/why-are-so-many-winnie-poohs-being-thrown-ice-yuzuru-hanyu "undefined"). Ever since, fans have taken to throwing him the bears to show their affection. Just check out plush bad boy Winnie sitting pretty back when Hanyu was practicing for the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in 2013.  Brian Orser and Winnie the Pooh look on as their skater, Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu practices in preparation for the ISU World Figure Skating Championships at Budweiser Gardens. Steve Russell—Toronto Star via Getty Images And when the skater competed at Sochi in the 2014 Winter Games, he carried a Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal around with him. > [](https://twitter.com/rynobuuck/status/964362240404017154) A Winnie the Pooh themed Twitter account? Indeed, Hanyu has that as well (even if it’s not very active). > [](https://twitter.com/HanyusPooh/status/596977440183877632) There may be something to these bears: After securing the top spot with a [111.68 score](http://time.com/5162212/olympics-figure-skating-nathan-chen-what-happened/ "undefined"), [Hanyu is poised](http://time.com/5129950/yuzuru-hanyu-figure-skating-2018-olympics/ "undefined") to become the first male singles skater to win gold at two successive Olympics in over 60 years. At this point, the move is expected by in-the-know skaters like Ashley Wagner. > [](https://twitter.com/AshWagner2010/status/964351561517314048) Because it’s a routine occurrence. > [](https://twitter.com/icenetwork/status/921353127479205888) But that didn’t stop the internet from freaking out over Winnie the Pooh chaos. > [](https://twitter.com/nzaccardi/status/581437384501264384) > [](https://twitter.com/BOBBYCYD%5F/status/964481944862932992) > [](https://twitter.com/zhoumara%5F622/status/964363838748483584) > [](https://twitter.com/kokiriemeralds/status/963243644902952960) > [](https://twitter.com/denkimouse/status/964362063475654660) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5162305/winnie-the-pooh-japan-figure-skater-yuzuru-hanyu-olympics/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5162305/winnie-the-pooh-japan-figure-skater-yuzuru-hanyu-olympics/"},"headline":"Here's Why People Throw Winnie the Pooh at Japanese Figure Skater Yuzuru Hanyu","datePublished":"2018-02-16T13:56:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:46:22.081Z","description":"Japan's top figure skater and the bear have a long history","url":"https://time.com/5162305/winnie-the-pooh-japan-figure-skater-yuzuru-hanyu-olympics/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Winter Olympics","onetime","2018 Pyeongchang Olympics"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta03a8cb9a00d7cca/698927e50a4a2233249d1ccd/gettyimages-918871950.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ashley Hoffman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta03a8cb9a00d7cca/698927e50a4a2233249d1ccd/gettyimages-918871950.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"PyeongChang 2018 Olympics: Figure Skating, Men's Short Program","caption":"PyeongChang 2018 Olympics: Figure Skating, Men's Short Program","creditText":"Valery Sharifulin—Valery Sharifulin/TASS","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":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5162305/winnie-the-pooh-japan-figure-skater-yuzuru-hanyu-olympics/","name":"Here's Why People Throw Winnie the Pooh at Japanese Figure Skater Yuzuru Hanyu"}}]}] ```