Raven Saunders

Raven "Hulk" Saunders (born May 15, 1996) is an American track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and discus throw. They were the silver medalist in shot put at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, throwing a distance of. They won two NCAA collegiate titles at Southern Illinois in the shot put, and two NCAA shot put titles for the University of Mississippi. They were a world junior silver medalist in 2014 and the Pan American junior champion in 2015. They hold a personal record of for the shot put. In 2023, they accepted an 18-month suspension from competition after missing three doping tests in one year.

They have also worked as an advocate for racial justice and mental health.

Prep
Saunders attended Burke High School in Charleston, South Carolina and competed in track and field while there. In March 2014 they broke the national high school indoor record for the shot put with a mark of and, April 2014 they broke the national high school outdoor record for the shot put with a mark of. Raven was coached in high school by Herbert Johnson. They were selected as the Gatorade Female Track and Field Athlete of the Year for their efforts.

NCAA
Saunders went on to attend Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois before transferring to the University of Mississippi and competing for the Ole Miss Rebels track team.

They were highly successful as a Southern Illinois Salukis, winning the shot put titles at the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships, 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

They are the first American junior athlete to throw beyond eighteen metres. They continued to improve their American junior records and broke the Missouri Valley Conference record.

They were highly successful as an Ole Miss Rebels, winning the shot put titles at the 2016 Southeastern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, placing 12th at 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships, winning shot put titles at 2016 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

They broke the 23-year-old outdoor championship record with their shot put throw of in 2016.

World competition
Raven placed first at the 2014 US Junior Championships. Saunders made their international debut at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics in Eugene, Oregon and took the silver medal behind Guo Tianqian of China (who was Asian champion one year later). Saunders raised funds through the internet in order to attend the meeting, which was nearly 3000 miles away from their hometown in South Carolina.

The following year, Raven placed eighth at the 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and topped the podium at the 2015 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships – they beat the runner-up by over two and a half meters and their throw of was a new Pan American Junior championship record.

Saunders returned an improved athlete for the 2016 United States Olympic Trials and successfully made her first Olympic team with a best of, coming second only to World medalist Michelle Carter.

2021 Olympics
In 2021 Saunders placed second at the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials with a shot put throw of 19.96 m. They were the silver medalist in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, throwing a distance of 19.79 m.

After receiving their silver medal during the medal ceremony, Saunders raised their arms and crossed them in the shape of an X on the podium which they stated symbolized their support for oppressed people. As a result, the IOC launched a probe to find if the gesture violated the rules of prohibiting any kind of demonstration or political, religious and racial propaganda in an Olympic site. The United States Olympic Committee defended Saunders' gesture stating that it did not breach its rules as it was a "peaceful expression in support of racial and social justice that was respectful of her competitors." On 4 August 2021, the IOC suspended its investigation on Saunders' gesture following the news of the death of their mother.

2023
In March 2023, Saunders was suspended by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) until February 2024 for missing three doping tests (whereabouts failures). Saunders released a statement saying that "[Saunders] has accepted full responsibility for her failure to update her whereabouts according to the prescribed procedure on multiple occasions [and] will use the time during her suspension to focus on her mental health and intensify her training to prepare for the Paris Games." The statement further clarified that "combined with recovery from a second major hip surgery in the fall of 2021 which affected her performance at the USA Team qualifier in 2022, and handling the estate of her mother and newfound responsibility for her sibling, Saunders came under a veritable mountain of additional life pressure alongside the pressures of being an elite athlete. Despite this tragic loss, Saunders remains committed to her athletic career and using her platform to raise awareness for mental health issues. She has expressed regret for failing to comply with the USADA policy and acknowledges the importance of upholding the integrity of sports and anti-doping efforts."

Personal life
Saunders is openly lesbian and uses the pronouns they/them. They have been outspoken about struggles with depression and has worked as an advocate for racial justice and mental health and animal rights for bovine, especially bulls.

National titles

 * NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
 * Shot put: 2015, 2016
 * NCAA Women's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
 * Shot put: 2015