Snowshoe Hare (Swifter): At one time, the sun was burning up the earth. The hare ran swiftly to the top of the mountain. Shooting her arrow at the sun, she dropped it lower in the sky and cooled the land.

Coyote (Higher): When the world turned dark and frozen, the coyote climbed the highest mountaintop and stole the flame from the fire people. He brought warmth back to the earth.

American Black Bear (Stronger): Long ago brave hunters left their villages to track the mighty bear. But the bear was too strong and outlasted the hunters. Today, sons of the hunters continue the chase in the night sky.

Each mascot wears a charm around its neck that has been fashioned after the original Anasazi or Fremont-style petroglyph to remind the hare, coyote and bear of its heritage.

Official Olympic mascots date back to the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich with the Waldi the dachshund, a popular Bavarian dog, as the first mascot. In the United States, previous mascots have included Roni the raccoon in Lake Placid in 1980, Sam the eagle in Los Angeles in 1984 and Izzy the animated character in Atlanta in 1996.

Mascots were based on historical figures and named after royal children for the first time during the 1994 Lillehammer Games with Hakon and Kristen. Nagano featured four Îsnowlets' based on the motif of an owl. Sydney has three animals as mascots with a platypus named Syd, Millie the echidna and a kookaburra named Olly.