SAINT-DENIS, France — Who was that masked person?
It was Raven Saunders, of course — the theatrical American shot put standout who uses the pronouns they and them and brings their own distinctive style to every meet they attend.
Saunders was throwing Thursday at the Olympics, wearing a full-faced black mask and bronze sunglasses and their hair dyed neon green on one side and purple on the other. Saunders refers to this as the “Hulk” look, one that helps them feel like a superhero getting ready to hurl that 8.8-pound hunk of metal.
After scratching on their first throw, they recorded 17.93 metre on their second and 18.62 on their final to secure a spot for Friday’s final.
Saunders won a silver medal at the Tokyo Games and, at the ceremony, crossed their arms and formed an “X” with their wrists.
Saunders explained the “X” stood for “the intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet.”
The 28-year-old from Charleston, South Carolina, competed at Southern Illinois before transferring to Ole Miss. They won NCAA shot put titles at both schools, in 2015 and 2016.
Saunders missed the 2023 world championships when they were suspended for 18 months because of three “whereabouts failures” — missing drug tests — within a 12-month period.
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