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US ‘non-binary’ shot put star Raven Saunders stokes row with bizarre mask look at Olympics: ‘If they’re not a woman…’
American athlete Raven Saunders, who went viral for donning a Hulk mask at Tokyo Olympics, left her fans stunned during a shot put event at Paris.
American athlete Raven Saunders, who went viral for donning a Hulk mask at Tokyo Olympics, left her fans stunned during a shot put event at Paris.
Saunders came to limelight for adopting a entire different look at Tokyo games in a bid to embrace an alter-ego.
Saunders was acting wild on Thursday at the Olympics, with a neon green hair colour, bronze sunglasses, and a full-faced black mask. This is popularly known as the “Hulk” look.
The 28-year-old, who won silver medal at Tokyo Olympics and gunning for gold in Paris, disclosed that wearing the mask helps athletes focus and become more self-motivated by discouraging others, but it's also a way to embrace their inner ‘Hulk’ or superhero.
Saunders, who prefers the pronouns they or them, told Yahoo Sport, “I like to be my biggest supporter — I really can't repeat [what I say] because y'all are going to have to bleep out most of the things I say anyway.”
Saunders identifies self as non-binary and uses the pronouns they/them. The athlete is vocal about LGBTQ+ rights.
“I am constantly sitting myself down and looking in that mirror and reminding myself, ‘You’re Raven, The Hulk. You will achieve it,” they added.
On Thursday, Saunders scratched on their first throw, but rebounded to record 17.93 on their second and 18.62 on their final to guarantee a position in Friday's championship round.
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Why does Raven Saunders don a mask while competing?
According to the American athlete, their mask-wearing is a pleasant throwback to the COVID era of Olympics, when they had to wear masks for qualifying in the Olympic events in 2020 and 2021. Therefore, Saunders got acclimated to donning the mask for shot put events and realised that wearing the mask prevented them from getting involved in pre-competition discussions.
“I like to be my biggest supporter — I really can’t repeat [what I say] because y’all are going to have to bleep out most of the things I say anyway,” Saunders said.
Raven Saunders causes stir with her look
Following the Thursday event, Saunders' new look at Paris Olympics went viral on social media, with one X user asserting, “What an absolute weapon!!”
“Classic American behaviour,” another wrote.
While one went on to say, “It’s not a look. Just madness,” the fourth user commented, “Should be banned”.
Meanwhile, netizens noted that the host introduced Saunders, saying “it’s good to see her back”. However, his co-host quickly corrected him and stated that “they are actually non-binary”.
“If they’re not a woman, why are they in the women’s competition?” one netizen asked.
“What the hell is going on,” another user wondered, while one more questioned, “Then why is she competing in the women's category you fruit loop?”
Saunders' powerful 5 feet 5 inches of stature earned them the moniker “Hulk”.
After making their competitive debut in Rio and then qualifying for Tokyo, Saunders' road to Paris has not been a simple one.
The shot put sensation admitted to Action 5 News in 2021 that they had dealt with suicidal thoughts. “I wanted to show people that it is real, you know there are many of us that deal with this,” Saunders said.
