'Lympic Legends #6 - Fatso The Fat-Arsed Wombat

I have to admit that, in my complete and utter focus on the competitive action over the past 9 days, I managed to miss the presence of the horrific mascots of the London Games, the phallic figures of Wenlock and Mandeville (left). What exactly prompts an organising committee to nominate a pair of 8 foot tall one-eyed monsters as the official mascots of the games, I don't know. But at least it reminded me of one of the greatest mascot stories of all time.


Sydney 2000 saw a platypus, a kookaburra and an anteater symbolise the event; the response was less than enthusiastic. Syd, Ollie and Millie - or Syd Ollie and Dickhead as they were referred to - were roundly disparaged, until Australian sports comedy show The Dream decided to provide an alternative. That alternative was Fatso The Fat-Arsed Wombat.

The concept was nothing if not simple: a wombat with a comically oversized posterior was the perfect antidote to the official mascots. The reaction of the public was extraordinary - Fatso became far more popular than the incumbents. The craze reached its peak when Australian swimmers including Susie O'Neill and Michael Klim carried teddies of Fatso onto the podium after winning gold medals. Asked of his unofficial protest, Klim insisted, "I didn't understand the
significance, I just
thought it was a wombat...
yeah, with a big arse".

"The Battlers' Prince" is now immortalised in statue form outside the Olympic Stadium. His place in history - as well as his place in our hearts - is secure. Now, he joins the hallowed halls of 'Lympic Legends.