RUSSIAN Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had his wish when a snow leopard, polar bear and hare were chosen as the official mascots of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics on Saturday.

    Putin, who was largely responsible for Sochi’s successful bid to host the 2014 Games, said earlier in the day that a snow leopard would be his “symbolic choice.”

    The snow leopard received 28 percent of the votes during a live broadcast on Russia’s main Channel One, followed by the polar bear in second place with 18 percent and the hare in third (16 percent).

    “All top-three characters will become the Olympic Winter Games mascots,” Sochi 2014 chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said in a statement. “The mascots are the choice of our whole country and will remain in the history of the Olympic movement.”

    Television viewers voted for the mascots from a pool of 10 candidates including a Russian bear and Grandfather Frost (Russian Santa Claus) by sending text messages or by calling the studio.

    (SD-Agencies)