Battle of Caving Banks

Raven 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 19.79 m (64 ft 11 in).[1] They won three NCAA collegiate titles in the shot put for the University of Mississippi. They were a world junior medalist in 2014 and the Pan American junior champion in 2015. They hold a personal record of 19.96 m (65 ft 5+3⁄4 in) for the shot put. They received a 18 month doping ban in 2023 for incurring three whereabouts failures.

They have also worked as an advocate for racial justice[clarification needed] 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 they broke the national high school record for the shot put with a mark of 17.27 m (56 ft 7+3⁄4 in). They were nominated as the Gatorade Female Track and Field Athlete of the Year for their 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.

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.[4]

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.[5]

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.[5][6]

They broke the 23-year-old outdoor championship record with their 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 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).[9][10] Saunders raised funds through the internet in order to attend the meeting, which was nearly 3000 miles away from their 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 – they beat the runner-up by over two and a half meters and their 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 their 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] They were the silver medalist in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, throwing a distance of 19.79 m (64 ft 11 in).[15][16]

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 [their] competitors." On 4 August 2021, the IOC suspended its investigation on Saunders' gesture following the news of the death of their 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 "[Saunders] has accepted full responsibility for [their] failure to update [their] whereabouts according to the prescribed procedure on multiple occasions [and] will use the time during [their] suspension to focus on [their] mental health and intensify [their] 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 [their] performance at the USA Team qualifier in 2022, and handling the estate of [their] mother and newfound responsibility for [their] 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 [their] athletic career and using [their] platform to raise awareness for mental health issues. [Saunders] 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] and uses they/them and he/him pronouns.[22] They have been outspoken about struggles with depression[23] and have worked as an advocate for racial justice and mental health and animal rights for bovine, especially bulls.[2]

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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 Hulk Saunders (@giveme1shot__)". Instagram.
  23. ^ "Raven Saunders: What the Olympian's X protest means to her". BBC News. August 2, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.

External links

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raven_Saunders