PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) — The joy on Jamie Anderson's face as she celebrated her victory in women's slopestyle snowboarding is a timeless Olympic moment. The cute little stuffed tiger in her right hand is a new twist.
After winning gold, silver or bronze, medalists at these Winter Games aren't immediately presented with their hardware. Instead, they get Soohorang, a striped white tiger that is the mascot of the Pyeongchang Olympics and quickly became a ubiquitous sight during many of the games' joyful moments.
The white tiger is considered South Korea's guardian animal. "Sooho" means "protection" in Korean while "rang" is part of the word for "tiger" and the last Korean letter in "Jeongseon Arirang," which is a popular Korean folk song.