BEIJING SNAPSHOT: Olympic winners get plush panda then medal

By: The Associated Press Posted: Last Modified:

Advertisement

Advertise with us

BEIJING (AP) — When most champions get off the slopes or the ice at the Beijing Olympics, they are handed Bing Dwen Dwen, the chubby panda mascot of the Games.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/02/2022 (1676 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BEIJING (AP) — When most champions get off the slopes or the ice at the Beijing Olympics, they are handed Bing Dwen Dwen, the chubby panda mascot of the Games.

Where are the medals? They usually come later at a special ceremony — a system introduced in 1988 at the Calgary Games.

But immediately after competition, the winning athletes in Beijing receive a plush toy panda, stuffed inside a plastic shell that is meant to represent ice. Bing, in fact, means ice in Chinese. The toy is also adorned with a golden wreath.

Miho Takagi of Japan waves during a ceremony after winning the silver medal in the women's speedskating 1,500-meter race at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Miho Takagi of Japan waves during a ceremony after winning the silver medal in the women's speedskating 1,500-meter race at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris won his third Olympic bronze medal on Monday and said he loved the prize that came with it.

“I always claimed back in the day that my spirit animal is a panda. I love pandas,” he said.

A similar ritual unfolded at the Pyeongchang Games four years ago. There, immediately after winning gold, silver or bronze, medalists got Soohorang, a striped white tiger that served as the mascot for those Games.

The tradition of giving a mascot to the winners has existed for more than a decade at the Youth Olympics.

Mascots that were presented to the medalists are displayed before the award ceremony for the men's moguls at Genting Snow Park at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Mascots that were presented to the medalists are displayed before the award ceremony for the men's moguls at Genting Snow Park at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Related Articles

CP - Olympic early advisory for Feb. 8, 2022 Chen flips, spins way to world-record score at Olympics
Nathan Chen, of the United States, competes during the men's short program figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Canadian Scott Gow finishes 5th in 20km biathlon
Scott Gow of Team Canada shoots during the men's 20-kilometer individual race at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth
BEIJING SNAPSHOT: Olympic press can grab high-tech naps
Two men walk into a sleeping pod at the main media center ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Journalist who spoke to Peng Shuai says doubts remain
China's Peng Shuai, right, watches the women's freestyle skiing big air finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Shiffrin set for Olympic slalom after quick exit in 1st race
Mikaela Shiffrin of United States after skiing off course during the first run of the women's giant slalom at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Advertisement Advertise With Us

Advertisement Advertise With Us

Report Error Submit a Tip

Advertisement

Learn more about Winnipeg Free Press Advertising solutions

More Stories

Miho Takagi of Japan waves during a ceremony after winning the silver medal in the women's speedskating 1,500-meter race at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

BEIJING SNAPSHOT: Olympic winners get plush panda then medal

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

BEIJING SNAPSHOT: Olympic winners get plush panda then medal

The Associated Press 2 minute read Monday, Feb. 7, 2022

BEIJING (AP) — When most champions get off the slopes or the ice at the Beijing Olympics, they are handed Bing Dwen Dwen, the chubby panda mascot of the Games.

Where are the medals? They usually come later at a special ceremony — a system introduced in 1988 at the Calgary Games.

But immediately after competition, the winning athletes in Beijing receive a plush toy panda, stuffed inside a plastic shell that is meant to represent ice. Bing, in fact, means ice in Chinese. The toy is also adorned with a golden wreath.

Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris won his third Olympic bronze medal on Monday and said he loved the prize that came with it.

Read
Monday, Feb. 7, 2022
JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS A friend of four teens, killed in a crash Sunday night, visits a memorial placed at the intersection of Highway 8 and Provincial Road 229 Tuesday,

Premier tells grieving parents site of fatal collision under review

Chris Kitching 4 minute read Preview

Premier tells grieving parents site of fatal collision under review

Chris Kitching 4 minute read Yesterday at 5:48 PM CDT

Premier Wab Kinew promised to pursue safety improvements at an Interlake intersection when he spoke to parents of some of the four teens who died in a crash at the site on the Labour Day weekend.

The collision at Highway 8 and Provincial Road 229, just west of Winnipeg Beach, prompted a review by Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure, which is standard after a fatal crash, while some of the victims’ families and community leaders publicly called for changes.

“When you see the loss of these beautiful young lives, any parent, any Manitoban feels a sense of loss. On behalf of the whole province, I send my condolences to these families,” Kinew said in Winnipeg Wednesday.

“I did so directly earlier today, and I heard some of the parents’ suggestions for how we could make this safer for everybody. I committed to them that we’re going to take those actions — both stuff we can do relatively quickly and some longer-term fixes, as well.”

Read
Yesterday at 5:48 PM CDT

Puzzles Palace

1 minute read Monday, Jul. 27, 2026

To solve our puzzles, please subscribe with this special offer: |

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Kat Kettner, from left, Katelyn Sawatzky and Cici Davies — members of Childfree Winnipeg Women — have coffee at The Forks on Tuesday. Sawatzky founded the social group Childfree Winnipeg Women for women who don’t have children to connect, share experiences, and build meaningful friendships.

Childfree Winnipeg group gives women without kids a place to gather

AV Kitching 5 minute read Preview

Childfree Winnipeg group gives women without kids a place to gather

AV Kitching 5 minute read Yesterday at 4:48 PM CDT

Katelyn Sawatzky founded Childfree Winnipeg Women in 2021 to bring together women who don’t have kids — be it by choice or circumstance — and do not plan on raising children.

The group is designed to help them share experiences and build meaningful friendships.

The community welcomes cisgender, straight, transgender, bisexual and lesbian women. Parents, including empty nesters and men, are turned away.

“Our group is a safe space where women can hang out with other women without being asked when you’re going to have kids or why you don’t have kids … where you don’t feel like you have to validate or defend your choices in any way, because everyone gets it,” Sawatzky says.

Read
Yesterday at 4:48 PM CDT
Workers on strike outside a Dynacare at 55 Marion St. in Winnipeg. (Mike Deal / Free Press)

Labour board ruling halts Dynacare strike

Carol Sanders and Erik Pindera 6 minute read Preview

Labour board ruling halts Dynacare strike

Carol Sanders and Erik Pindera 6 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 8, 2026

The Manitoba Labour Board has cut short a strike by 350 lab workers employed by Dynacare who administer blood and urine tests for patients in Winnipeg, Brandon and surrounding communities.

The board ruled late Tuesday afternoon that the workers, who hit the picket line at 6 a.m., must return to work Wednesday.

Jason Linklater, president of their union, the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, slammed the board’s decision.

“The Manitoba Labour Board is doing exactly what the government asked them to do: they are taking away our members’ right to fight for fairness,” he said in a statement.

Read
Tuesday, Sep. 8, 2026
U of M students call for ban on far-right group

U of M students call for ban on far-right group

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Preview

U of M students call for ban on far-right group

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read 6:00 AM CDT

Some University of Manitoba students are calling on their school to ban a far-right group from campus after posters promoting mass deportations were found during the summer break.

More than 50 people rallied on Wednesday, the first day of classes, to make known their concerns about a group called the Dominion Society of Canada.

The protest was organized after a supporter of the self-described nationalist group posted a video over the Labour Day weekend that shows him putting up flyers in Fort Garry.

“Canada is a really beautiful country and I have been welcomed here by a lot of beautiful people and it’s been amazing, but when I see harmful rhetoric online and now, on campus, it gives me a lot of anxiety,” said Ela Ancheta, an arts major at U of M.

Read
6:00 AM CDT