The masked Olympian going for gold: Raven Saunders uses ‘they/them’ pronouns and turns into ‘The Hulk’ when throwing the shot put – but also courted athletics controversy while suffering through a ‘dark time’

Raven Saunders, the theatrical American shot put standout who brings their own distinctive style to every meet they attend, has qualified into the Olympic final as they look to grab another gold medal tonight. 

Saunders – who uses they/them pronouns – wore on Thursday sported a full-faced black mask and gold-hued sunglasses. Their hair was dyed neon green on one side and purple on the other. Saunders had gold grills covering their upper and lower teeth, along with long fingernails on their left hand that were bedazzled and in Team USA colors and the letters H-U-L-K.

But why the concerted effort to have such a distinctive appearance? This is Saunders’ alter ego once the shot put starts flying. Turning into ‘The Hulk’ helps them feel like a superhero getting ready to hurl the 8.8-pound hunk of metal.

‘I’m in full form,’ Saunders said of their costume. ‘I had to remind the people, I am who I am.’

‘It is one way to make me stand out and encourage other women,’ Saunders said of their shot-put persona. ‘A lot of younger athletes are coming through and they really push their own styles.’

Raven Saunders, of the United States, competes during the women’s shot put qualification at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France

US’ Raven Saunders wearing a grillz on their teeth reacts as they competes in the women’s shot put qualification of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 8, 2024

Saunders during 2020 Tokyo Olympics receiving silver medal 

 But Saunders has also said that wearing a mask helps boost concentration and self motivation, and help them manage anxiety and stress while performing their sport. 

They also explained that they chose the Marvel character as their alter ego as they saw themselves reflected in the Hulk, a superhero who sometimes lives a normal life as Bruce Banner, but uses his powers to let out his rage. 

Saunders told Yahoo in 2021 that ‘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.

‘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, learned how to let the Hulk come out during the right moments and that way it also gave him a sign of mental peace.

Saunders is known for their ‘Hulk’ alter ego while competing 

 ‘But, when the Hulk came out, the Hulk was smashing everything that needed to be smashed.’  

After scratching on their first throw, they recorded 17.93 meters on their second and 18.62 on their final to ensure their spot in the final. As usual, it will be as interesting to see what Saunders wears as how far they throw.

‘I have something even better,’ they said of what’s in store.

At the medals ceremony in Tokyo, Saunders 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.’

This resulted in the International Olympic Committee launching a probe into Saunders’ protest, which officials believed might have breached protocol that bans political gestures.  

But Saunders’ journey too Paris has not been an easy one. 

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.

Raven Saunders of the USA wears a mask as they compete in the Women Shot Put qualification of the Athletics competitions in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Saunders is known to wear a face mask while competing 

Just yesterday, Saunders was the subject of Olympics controversy after being misgendered by a BBC sports commentator

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.

It was all part of a dark time for Saunders, whose mother died unexpectedly just after the Tokyo Games and also went through hip surgery.

There was serious consideration to walking away from the sport.

‘No matter how dark it gets, no matter how tough – there will be light,’ Saunders said. ‘Those dark moments, those dark days, I dragged myself out of bed and drag myself to weight room, tears in my eyes, begging, `When is this going to be over?’ I just kept fighting every single day. It felt like for months on end, and finally I had a breakthrough. That’s the power of resilience and persistence and trust and faith.’

Saunders has not shied away from discussing their mental-health hurdles. If that message seeps through to others, it’s great with them.

‘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.’

But now they said that they are in a ‘great headspace, adding that ‘with everything that I have been through, there is no point for me to not be in a great headspace’. 

But despite their style, yesterday’s shot put competition veered a gender controversy of its own in Paris when the non-binary athlete was misgendered by BBC’s Steve Backley. 

The sports commentator mistakenly referred to Saunders as female and was corrected by his co-commentator Jazmin Sawyers. 

‘The colorful character of Raven Saunders back. Good to see her back, sort of. Sort of see her, I mean,’ Backley said, referencing Saunders’ mask, before Sawyers responded.

‘Well we can’t actually see them very well. Raven Saunders is actually non-binary and wearing a mask there – we are quite used to seeing them with interesting attire,’ Backley said around images of a masked Saunders getting ready to compete.