Fatso Wombat outpunches Boxing Kangaroo

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Sydney: It's Fatso the Wombat versus the Boxing Kangaroo. The fight between the Australian Olympic team's unofficial and official soft toy mascots is on - and Fatso has been winning all the rounds so far.

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), who have bought the rights to the boxing kangaroo, are reported to be so concerned about Fatso jeopardising a big money marketing drive that they have banned Australia's athletes from posing with him.

But the athletes have taken to Fatso in a big way. They have ensured worldwide fame for the furry wombat - a small Australian animal resembling a small bear - by clutching him when they go before the television cameras on the medal winners' podium at the Sydney Games.

Fatso was the creation of an irreverent late-night Australian television programme on the Olympics in which he waddles across the screen leaving droppings behind during replays of not-so-great moments.

Some Australian newspapers said the AOC had banned Fatso in an attempt to ensure the boxing kangaroo gets the full glare of publicity when Australians win medals.

"It's a matter of some commercial sensitivity and I'd prefer not to answer the question," AOC official Peter Montgomery told the 'Sydney Morning Herald' when asked whether Fatso had been banned.

Australian swimmer Michael Klim said, "To be honest, I didn't understand its significance. I just thought it was a wombat, an Australian animal...Yeah, with a big arse."



(c) Reuters Limited.