Who was this masked person?
It was Raven Saunders, of course, the theatrical American shot putter who uses the pronouns they and them and brings his own distinctive style to every competition he enters.
On Thursday, Saunders was throwing weights at the Olympics, wearing a full-face black mask, bronze sunglasses and his hair dyed neon green. Saunders calls it the “Hulk” look, a look that makes him feel like a superhero ready to throw that 8.8-pound hunk of metal.
After failing on their first throw, they recorded 17.93 metres on their second and 18.62 on their last to secure a spot in Friday’s final.
Saunders won a silver medal at the Tokyo Games and during the ceremony they crossed their arms and formed an “X” with their wrists.
Saunders explained that the “X” represented “the intersection where all oppressed people meet.”
The 28-year-old from Charleston, South Carolina, competed at Southern Illinois before transferring to Ole Miss. They won NCAA shot put titles at both schools in 2015 and 2016.
