Raven Saunders (born May 15, 1996) is an American

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete who competes in the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

and discus throw. She was the silver medalist in shot put at the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

, throwing a distance of . She won three NCAA collegiate titles in the shot put for the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

. She was a world junior medalist in 2014 and the Pan American junior champion in 2015. She holds a personal record of for the shot put. She has also worked as an advocate for racial justice and mental health.

Career

Prep

Saunders attended Burke High School in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

and competed in track and field while there. In April 2014 she broke the national high school record for the shot put with a mark of . She was nominated as the Gatorade Female Track and Field Athlete of the Year for her efforts.

NCAA

Saunders went on to attend Southern Illinois University in

Carbondale, Illinois Carbondale is a city in Jackson and Williamson Counties, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt". The city developed from 1853 because of the stimulation of railroad construction into the ...

before transferring to the

and competing for the

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford. The first was the football team, which began play in 1893. Originally known as th ...

track team. She was highly successful as a

Southern Illinois Salukis The Southern Illinois Salukis are the varsity athletic teams representing Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The nickname comes from the Saluki, the Royal Dog of Egypt and the Persian greyhound, which ties into the fact that southern Illino ...

, 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. She is the first American junior athlete to throw beyond eighteen metres. She continued to improve her American junior records and broke the Missouri Valley Conference record. She was highly successful as an

, winning the shot put titles at the 2016

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

Indoor Track and Field Championships, placing 12th at 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships, winning shot put titles at 2016

Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships.Raven Saunders
. Ole Miss Rebels. Retrieved on 2016-07-14. She broke the 23-year-old outdoor championship record with her shot put throw of in 2016.

World competition

Raven placed first at the 2014 US Junior Championships. Saunders made her international debut at the

2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition for athletes qualifying as juniors (born 1995 or later) which was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, USA, on 22–27 July 2014. A total of 44 a ...

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

and took the silver medal behind Guo Tianqian of China (who was Asian champion one year later). Saunders raised funds through the internet in order to attend the meeting, which was nearly 3000 miles away from her hometown in South Carolina. The following year, Raven placed eighth at the

2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Hayward Field, University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. Organized by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 25–28 and served as the national championships in ...

and topped the podium at the

2015 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships The 2015 Pan American Junior Championships was the eighteenth edition of the biennial track and field competition for under-20 athletes from the Americas, organised by the Association of Panamerican Athletics. It was held in Edmonton, Alberta, C ...

– she beat the runner-up by over two and a half metres and her throw of was a new Pan American Junior championship record. Saunders returned an improved athlete for the 2016 United States Olympic Trials and successfully made her first

Olympic team A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

with a best of , coming second only to World medalist Michelle Carter.

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). She was the silver medalist in the

, throwing a distance of 19.79 m (64 ft 11 in). After receiving her silver medal during the medal ceremony, Saunders raised her arms and crossed them in the shape of an X on the podium which she stated symbolized her 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 The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

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 her competitors". On 4 August 2021, the IOC suspended its investigation on Saunders' gesture following the news of the death of her mother.

Personal life

Saunders is openly lesbian. She has been outspoken about struggles with depression and has worked as an advocate for racial justice and mental health.

International competitions

National titles

NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships The NCAA Division I Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships are the annual collegiate track and field competitions for women athletes representing Division I institutions organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). At ...

** Shot put:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

NCAA Women's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships The NCAA Women's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championship is an annual collegiate indoor track and field competition for women from Division I institutions organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Athletes' performances i ...

** Shot put:

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Raven Living people 1996 births Sportspeople from Charleston, South Carolina Track and field athletes from South Carolina American female shot putters American female discus throwers African-American female track and field athletes Ole Miss Rebels women's track and field athletes Southern Illinois Salukis women's track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field American LGBT sportspeople LGBT African Americans LGBT track and field athletes Lesbian sportswomen LGBT people from South Carolina 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American women