Paris 2024

Olympic shot putter Raven Saunders causes stir competing in mask and sunglasses

American, looking to improve on silver medal won in Tokyo, says mask helps maintain focus

Raven Saunders of the USA competes with a mask in the women's shot put in Paris. Photograph: Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Tom Lutz
Thu Aug 08 2024 - 17:30

Raven Saunders made a splash during the women’s shot put qualification at the Paris Olympics on Thursday while attempting to upgrade the silver medal won at the Tokyo Games.

Saunders – who uses they/them pronouns – wore a full-face black mask and sunglasses during the bid to make the final. . Saunders’ hair was also dyed green and purple, set off with gold grills over their teeth.

“I’m in full form,” Saunders said of the outfit. “I had to remind the people, I am who I am.”

Saunders uses the “Hulk” alter-ego when competing to deal with the stress that comes with elite-level sport, saying it helps to identify with the superhero’s difficult road towards controlling his strength and power.

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“Early on, similar to the Hulk, I had a tough time differentiating between the two; I had a tough time controlling when the Hulk came out or when the Hulk didn’t come out,” Saunders told Yahoo Sports in 2021.

“But through my journey, especially dealing with mental health and things like that, I learned how to compartmentalise, the same way that Bruce Banner learned to control the Hulk. I learned how to let the Hulk come out during the right moments and that way it also gave him a sign of mental peace. But when the Hulk came out, the Hulk was smashing everything that needed to be smashed.”

The 28-year-old became used to wearing masks during Covid restrictions and has continued, saying it helps to increase focus and avoids the necessity to talk to other competitors which may prove a distraction during meets.

Saunders, who is Black and gay, formed an “X” with their wrists on the podium when collecting the silver medal in Tokyo. The advocate for LGBTQ rights and mental health awareness, said the gesture represented “the intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet”, adding the hope that the medal would help “people all around the world who are fighting and don’t have the platform to speak up for themselves”.

Raven Saunders competes in the women's shot put qualification at Stade de France in Paris. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

The IOC launched an investigation into the gesture as it had banned athletes from protesting on the podium in Tokyo but Saunders was not punished.

Saunders, who enjoys playing the piano as a hobby, made an Olympic debut in Rio, finishing fifth before going on to win silver in Tokyo. The American was also a talented basketball player before focusing on track and field in college.

“I had hoop dreams. I first picked up the shot put as something to help with basketball,” Saunders said. “I did not think much of it, but I had been playing basketball since third grade. I was actually thinking of moving to Florida with a cousin before I started with the shot put. So it gave me a reason to stay back home and train.”

Saunders’s third attempt of 18.62m on Thursday ensured qualification for Friday’s final. Canada’s Sarah Mitton led the qualifiers with a throw of 19.77m.

Saunders was given an 18-month ban for missing three doping tests and missed the 2023 world Championships. The suspension ended in February 202 so Saunders was free to compete in Paris

“I honestly said that If I made this team, when I made this team, that it was for the people,” Saunders said. “It was for the people that reminded me of who I was when I was down, when I was out, when I was suspended.”

As for the choice of dress code in Friday’s final, Saunders has some ideas already, declaring, “I have something even better”.