Olympic mascots through the years

London, 2012: Olympic mascot Wenlock, left, and Mandeville, the Paralympic mascot, strike an Usain Bolt-esque pose. The pair are said to have been created from the last drops of steel left over from the construction of the final support girder for the Olympic Stadium Photograph: Matt Dunham/AP Photograph: Matt Dunham/guardian.co.uk Munich, 1972: Dachshund Fritz (centre) was the original live model for 'Waldi' the mascot, displayed here in both wood and felt Photograph: Corbis Photograph: guardian.co.uk Montreal, 1976: The beaver which went by the name Amik, and was taken from the Algonquian language (the most popular language among Aboriginal people in Canada.) 'Amik' means beaver Photograph: PR Photograph: guardian.co.uk Moscow, 1980: 'Mischa' the bear. (Note: he's not the one in the middle) Photograph: AP Photograph: guardian.co.uk Los Angeles, 1984: Sam the Eagle during the opening ceremony. Designed by Walt Disney, this magnificent bird of prey wears the dress of the legendary American Uncle Sam Photograph: Tony Duffy/Getty Images Photograph: Tony Duffy/guardian.co.uk Barcelona, 1992: 'Cobi' the dog was created by the Valencian artist Javier Mariscal Photograph: Maury Christian/Corbis Photograph: Maury Christian/guardian.co.uk Atlanta, 1996: Izzy was the first mascot designed by computer. It was an amorphous abstract fantasy figure, apparently. It carried the name Izzy, derived from 'What is it?' because no one seemed to know exactly what Izzy really was Photograph: Ken Levine/Getty Images Photograph: Ken Levine/guardian.co.uk Seoul, 1988: Hodori the tiger. The name 'Ho' is derived from the Korean word for 'tiger', and 'Dori' is a diminutive for boys in Korea Photograph: David Cannon/Getty Images Photograph: David Cannon/guardian.co.uk Sydney, 2000: Three native Australian animals Syd (Sydney) the platypus, Millie (Millennium) the echidna and Olly (Olympic) the kookaburra, who this time isn't sitting in an old wood tree Photograph: John Van Hasselt/Corbis Photograph: John Van Hasselt/guardian.co.uk Athens, 2004: Phevos and Athena pose next to the edifice marking the starting point of the Olympic marathon. Greek mythology had it that Phevos and Athena are brother and sister, named after two Greek gods: Phevos, the god of light and music, and Athena, goddess of wisdom and patron of the city of Athens Photograph: Pantelis Saitas/EPA Photograph: Pantelis Saitas/guardian.co.uk Beijing, 2008: 'Fuwa' mascots. From left to right: the fish, the panda, the Olympic flame, the Tibetan antelope and the swallow Photograph: TopPhoto/ex Features Photograph: TopPhoto/guardian.co.uk