‘I want to encourage other women’: US star Raven Saunders wears mask and sunglasses in shot put semifinals

By Ben Morse and Ben Church, CNN

(CNN) — Raven Saunders has never been shy about standing out and that’s exactly what they did in Thursday’s shot put semifinals.

The US star qualified for Friday’s final with a throw of 18.62m, fourth in their qualification group and seventh overall.

But it was their fashion choice that caused a stir.

Saunders donned a black face mask and a pair of colorful visor sunglasses while competing, and later said the outfit was all about inspiring people to be themselves.

“I feel special trying to get the world more in tune and trying to give us and bring us more in our event,” Saunders said after making the final.

“It is one way to make me stand out and I want to encourage other women – a lot of younger athletes are coming through and they really push their own styles.

“It limits the showcase that we are shot putters, but we have our own style, we can do things as big and bright as any sprinter, any jumper, whoever. So we deserve that spotlight as well.”

It’s not the first time that Saunders has worn a mask during competition. They have become well-known for their outlandish wardrobe decisions in recent years.

Indeed, their Instagram shows posts from a multitude of competitions wearing a variety of masks, ranging from one mimicking the smile of the DC Comics character, The Joker, and another with the Hulk’s grimace – Saunders’ nickname is ‘Hulk.’

The American athlete will be hoping to better their silver medal won at the Tokyo Games three years ago.

In the medal ceremony after winning silver in Tokyo, Saunders raised their hands and crossed them in an X as they and their fellow medal winners posed for photos, telling NBC at the time that it represented “the intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet.”

After they successfully advanced from the semifinals in Paris, Saunders said they were in a “great headspace” heading into Friday’s final.

“With everything that I have been through, there is no point for me to not to be in a great headspace,” the American said.

“When I made this team, it was for those people who reminded me who I was when I was down, when I was out, after I lost my mom, after a hip surgery – this was for them. Because they were the ones, when I felt like I wanted to quit, those were the people that encouraged me to keep going, keep pushing and even make it to this moment.”

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