If you have found yourself wondering what that little, brightly-coloured figurine is that athletes are being given alongside their medals at this year's Olympic Games in Rio, you are not alone.

Social media has been abuzz with speculation, with users suggesting the souvenir could be anything from a paperweight, to a napkin holder.

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But according to the official Rio Olympic Games website, the tiny, take-home gift is a wooden "statuette of the official Rio 2016 Olympic logo".

It is being awarded to each medal winner instead of a bouquet of flowers as this year's Games is prided on "embracing sustainability".

"Instead of giving flowers, the Rio 2016 Organising Committee has chosen to be innovative," a spokesperson told the ABC.

"Rio 2016 [is] the first Olympic Games to create a 3D logo of the Games ... which is awarded to each of the podium finishers."

There have also been reports that the figurine doubles as a medal holder.

What is so great about the logo?

The official three-dimensional logo of the Rio Olympic Games. ( Facebook: Tátil Design de Ideias )

This year's logo is the first ever to be designed in three dimensions.

It was designed by Tátil Design and inspired by the natural landscape in Rio.

The colours yellow, blue and green were chosen to represent the Brazilian people's "happy nature" and the country's water and forests. They are also the colours of the Brazilian national flag.

In 3D, the logo also draws inspiration from Rio's iconic Sugarloaf Mountain.

Sugarloaf Mountain is a popular landmark for tourists to behold in Rio. ( AFP: Yasuyoshi Chiba )

Why the figurine instead of flowers?

In the past, athletes have been presented with a bouquet of flowers on the winners podium.

But in the interests of "embracing sustainability", individual bouquets have been scrapped and replaced with the statuettes.

Christy Nicolay, the executive producer of the victory ceremonies, told The New York Times that the bouquets often ended up in the bin.

"We give it to an athlete, and very often they just throw it away," she said.

But flowers have not been discarded altogether at the medal ceremonies.

"To not move too far away from tradition, there are still some flowers present on stage, but each athlete is not given their own bouquet," a spokesperson told the ABC.

The medal ceremonies at this year's Games have been designed to "embrace sustainability". ( AP: Julio Cortez )

In keeping with the theme, the medal trays, podiums and even the medals themselves have been designed with sustainability in mind.

The podiums are made from organic materials and can be used as furniture after the Games, while the medal trays are made out of special wood.

The gold used in the gold medals has been produced according to strict sustainability criteria and the silver and bronze medals have been made using 30 per cent recycled materials.