Raven Saunders: The scariest athlete at the 2024 Olympics

Team USA athlete Raven Saunders has quite the look when competing in the shot put, and they have made a splash already as they try and conquer Olympic gold success.

The 28-year-old athlete carried their form into the women's final on the 8th of August with a throw of 18.62m, securing fourth in Group B.

But it wasn't their performance with the shot put that got people talking. It was Saunders' distinctive look on the field, wearing a full-face black mask and sunglasses as they attempted to make the final. They also had gold grills on their teeth and green and purple hair.

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Saunders, who goes by they/them pronouns according to The Guardian, uses their 'Hulk' alter ego when competing to deal with the stresses of elite-level sport. Saunders said they and the Hulk have the same problem controlling strength and power.

According to Yahoo Sports, Saunders said: "Early on, similar to the Hulk, I had a tough time differentiating between the two; I had a tough time controlling when the Hulk came out or when the Hulk didn't come out."

"(I) learned how to let the Hulk come out during the right moments and that way it also gave him a sign of mental peace. But when the Hulk came out, the Hulk was smashing everything that needed to be smashed."

The shot-put star started to wear a mask during COVID restrictions, and has continued to do so to help focus and avoid talking to fellow competitors during meets.

During the medal ceremony at the 2020 Games, where Saunders won a silver medal, the shot-put star formed an X with their wrists on the podium, advocating for LGBTQ rights and mental health awareness. The IOC investigated the incident for protesting on the podium, but they went unpunished.

According to the Mirror, an Olympics commentator misgendered Saunders live on air in Paris, saying: "The colorful character of Raven Saunders back. Good to see her back, sort of." Co-commentator Jazmin Sawyer quickly corrected him.

Saunders was banned from the 2023 World Championships after missing three doping tests. They returned to the sport in February 2024, and Sauders will hope to go one better at the Paris Games and win gold.

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