Raven Saunders from the USA competes in shot put with a black mask

Paris. American shot putter Raven Saunders, Olympic runner-up at Tokyo 2020, showed up at the qualifying round of the shot put on Thursday at the Paris Games with a black mask covering her face and later explained that she wanted to draw attention to her discipline.

With her hair dyed purple and green and long nails painted in the colors of the United States, Saunders pitched with that black mask covering her entire face and wearing sunglasses.

“I wanted to draw attention to ourselves, to put the spotlight on our discipline,” said Saunders after the competition. “We are shot putters, but we have our own style. We can do things just as well as sprinters and we deserve attention.”

Saunders, who has stated on social media that she wishes to be addressed using pronouns used for non-binary people, is heavily involved in defending LGBT+ rights and mental health.

In the past, he has already used the Olympic Games to send messages.

At the 2020 Tokyo Games he wore a mask of the Joker during her pageant and, upon stepping onto the podium, she raised and crossed her arms in an “X” shape, later explaining that she wanted to represent “all the people in the world who are struggling and don’t have a platform to make their voices heard.”

The athlete is returning from an 18-month suspension, which ended in February 2024, for having failed three times to comply with the obligation to be available for anti-doping controls within a 12-month period.

On Wednesday, Saunders qualified for the final with a throw of 18.62 metres, but not her compatriot and two-time world champion Chase Jackson, who only threw 17.60 metres.

There will be no South American presence in the final. The three participants from the region were eliminated in the qualifying round.

Of these, Chilean Ivana Gallardo was the best ranked (18th, 17.47 m) among the 31 participants. Brazilian Ana Carolina Silva was 23rd with 17.09 meters and veteran Chilean thrower Natalia Ducó, 35 years old, finished 30th and second to last with 16.11 meters.