Winnie the Pooh vs. Soohorang

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February 17, 2018 7:13 AM

At Gangneung Ice Arena, an epic battle played out during the men’s figure skating competition, but it wasn’t Nathan Chen vs. Yuzuru Hanyu.

It was Winnie the Pooh vs. Soohorang.

Soohorang is the cuddly white tiger that has emerged as a highly visible mascot at these games. Pooh is a famous yellow bear and favorite good-luck charm of Hanyu.

But before the games, Hanyu, of Japan, learned that he couldn’t carry his trademark bear with him at competitions. The Disney character is his personal mascot and, according to a fan blog, he finds comfort in Pooh’s unchanging gaze.

“Some conflict with the sponsor, so I was not able to bring the yellow bear,” said Hanyu after the men’s short program. The International Olympic Committee has strict rules about the nonessential products athletes are allowed to carry with them to competitions.

Now he leaves Pooh at the hotel. “I put my head against the head of the yellow bear because it’s a good-luck charm for me,” Hanyu said.

Soohorang, the white tiger, has been a constant presence at every Olympic venue and in the souvenir stores. When winners are announced during Olympic competitions, young women dressed in red coats present a stuffed Soohorang to the athletes instead of the traditional bouquet. “It’s pretty cute,” said Chloe Kim, the U.S. snowboarder, after she won the gold medal in the women’s halfpipe Tuesday.

But skating fans were having none of it — they are firmly on Team Pooh. Yellow Pooh bears sporting red T-shirts sit on the laps of audience members waiting for Hanyu to skate. After the Olympic long program, hundreds of fans pelted the ice with Pooh toys. Hanyu says the display fills him with “joy,” and he donates the toys to local children.

Tomoko Arimoto, 50, traveled with her 81-year-old mother from Tokyo to see Hanyu skate. She and her mother brought a toy to throw on the ice and wore yellow fuzzy Winnie the Pooh hats, hoping to catch Hanyu’s gaze.

“He loves Pooh,” said the younger Arimoto. “We ordered them from Amazon, just in case Hanyu finds us.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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