Raven Saunders
Saunders on the podium at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1996-05-15) May 15, 1996
Charleston, South Carolina
Height5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Sport
SportTrack and field
Event(s)Shot put, discus throw
College teamOle Miss Rebels
Coached byConnie Price-Smith
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)Shot put: 19.96 m (65 ft 5+3⁄4 in)
Discus: 56.85 m (186 ft 6 in)
Medal record
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place2020 TokyoShot put
Updated on 1 August 2021.

Raven Saunders (born May 15, 1996) is an American track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and discus throw. She was the silver medalist in shot put at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, throwing a distance of 19.79 m (64 ft 11 in).[1] She won three NCAA collegiate titles in the shot put for the University of Mississippi. She was a world junior medalist in 2014 and the Pan American junior champion in 2015. She holds a personal record of 19.96 m (65 ft 5+3⁄4 in) for the shot put.

She has also worked as an advocate for racial justice and mental health.[2]

Career

Prep

Saunders attended Burke High School in Charleston, South Carolina and competed in track and field while there. In April 2014 she broke the national high school record for the shot put with a mark of 17.27 m (56 ft 7+3⁄4 in). She was nominated as the Gatorade Female Track and Field Athlete of the Year for her efforts.[3]

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.

She was 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.[4]

She is the first American junior athlete to throw beyond eighteen metres. She continued to improve her American junior records and broke the Missouri Valley Conference record.[5]

She was 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.[5][6]

She broke the 23-year-old outdoor championship record with her shot put throw of 19.33 m (63 ft 5 in) in 2016.[7]

World competition

Raven placed first at the 2014 US Junior Championships.[8] Saunders made her 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).[9][10] Saunders raised funds through the internet in order to attend the meeting, which was nearly 3000 miles away from her hometown in South Carolina.[11]

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 – she beat the runner-up by over two and a half metres and her throw of 18.27 m (59 ft 11+1⁄4 in) was a new Pan American Junior championship record.[12]

Saunders returned an improved athlete for the 2016 United States Olympic Trials and successfully made her first Olympic team with a best of 19.24 m (63 ft 1+1⁄4 in), coming second only to World medalist Michelle Carter.[13]

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 (65 ft 6 in).[14] She was the silver medalist in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, throwing a distance of 19.79 m (64 ft 11 in).[15][16]

After receiving her silver medal during the medal ceremony, Saunders raised her arms and crossed them in the shape of an X on the podium which she stated symbolized her 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 her mother.[17][18][19]

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 "[she] 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."[20]

Personal life

Saunders is openly lesbian.[21] She has been outspoken about struggles with depression[22] and has worked as an advocate for racial justice and mental health.[2]

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
2014 World Junior Championships Eugene, United States 2nd Shot put 16.63 m
2015 Pan American Junior Championships Edmonton, Canada 1st Shot put 18.27 m CR
2016 NACAC U23 Championships San Salvador, El Salvador 1st Shot put 18.49 m
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 5th Shot put 19.35 m
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom 10th Shot put 17.86 m
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 2nd Shot put 19.79 m

National titles

References

  1. ↑ "Raven Saunders". Team USA. Archived from the original on July 30, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Futterman, Matthew; Minsberg, Talya; Chen, David W. (August 1, 2021). "Shot-Putter's Gesture Renews Controversy Over Podium Protests". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  3. ↑ Raven Saunders. Gatorade. Retrieved on 2016-07-14.
  4. ↑ "Raven Saunders at Southern Illinois". Track & Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS). Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Raven Saunders Archived August 8, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Ole Miss Rebels. Retrieved on 2016-07-14.
  6. ↑ Ole Miss Rebels Raven Saunders TFRRS.org. Retrieved on August 5, 2016.
  7. ↑ Mulkeen, Jon (2016-06-11). Lawson and Brazier rewrite history at NCAA Championships. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-07-14.
  8. ↑ 2014 USA Junior Championships Results – 7/5/2014 to 7/6/2014 Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon USATF. Retrieved on August 5, 2016.
  9. ↑ Robinson, Javier Clavelo (2014-07-26). Report: women's shot put – IAAF World Junior Championships, Oregon 2014. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-07-14.
  10. ↑ China add four gold on final day to finish on top at Asian Championships. IAAF (2015-06-07). Retrieved on 2016-07-14.
  11. ↑ Raven's one shot. Spikes Magazine (2014-08-05). Retrieved on 2016-07-14.
  12. ↑ Clavelo Robinson, Javier (2015-08-03)Aguilar breaks world junior javelin record at Pan American Junior Championships. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-07-14.
  13. ↑ Hartsell, Jeff (2016-07-08). Burke’s Raven Saunders on Olympic dream: ‘It’s crazy’. Post and Courier. Retrieved on 2016-07-14.
  14. ↑ Tripp, Drew (June 25, 2021). "Charleston's Raven Saunders makes U.S. Olympic team again with record shot put". WCIV. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Athletics – Final Results". Tokyo Olympics Official Site. Archived from the original on August 2, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Internet favorite Raven Saunders wins silver in women's shot put final". uk.sports.yahoo.com. August 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  17. ↑ Ganguly, Sudipto (August 2, 2021). "IOC says looking into gesture used by U.S. athlete Saunders on podium". Reuters. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  18. ↑ Núñez, Xcaret (August 4, 2021). "The IOC Has Suspended Its Investigation Into Raven Saunders' Podium Demonstration". NPR. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  19. ↑ Chen, Shawna (August 5, 2021). "IOC suspends investigation into Raven Saunders' gesture". Axios. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  20. ↑ Raven Saunders suspended for missed drug tests
  21. ↑ Lichtenstein, Isabelle (July 27, 2020). "Olympian Raven Saunders Gets Candid About Mental Health, Racism, And Queerness". GO Magazine. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Raven Saunders: What the Olympian's X protest means to her". BBC News. August 2, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
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