Raven Saunders, a contemporary icon

“Cel-eb-ration time, COME ON,” sang athletics‘ shot putter Raven Saunders on approaching the mixed zone to talk to the press following her Olympic silver-medal win at Tokyo 2020 (in 2021).

The playful American, whose dyed green hair represented her self-titled Hulk competiton alter-ego, told the waiting journalists she had put absolutely everything into claiming the longed-for silverware. “Everything that I’ve been through mental-health wise, injuries, financial,” she said, had paid off, her philosophy of “keep fighting, keep pushing, find value in yourself”, had come good.

Achieving fifth at her debut Games at Rio 2016 as a 21-year-old, Saunders had a medal in mind in Japan – particularly after seeing compatriot Michelle Carter claim the first ever US women’s Olympic gold at the event in Brazil.

Unbeknown to her competitors, however, Saunders was nursing an early season hip injury and a tweaked Achilles suffered less than an hour before the Olympic shot-put final on 1 August. Nevertheless, the then 25-year-old threw everything at the competition, including more unscientific methods such as utilising social media to urge Team USA supporters to wear green in support of her medal attempt. Encouraging fans in her quest for a medal by sharing their newly green-hued selves in social media posts is just one of the playful ways Saunders engages with her burgeoning online community.

The innovative tactic worked. On realising she’d claimed silver, achieving a distance of 19.79m behind People’s Republic of China’s Gong Lijiao (20.58m, a personal best) and ahead of shot put legend, New Zealand’s Valerie Adams (19.62m), Saunders celebrated by twerking, before striking a series of model poses draped in the American flag.

Her exuberant character and joyful reaction drew attention to the usually lower-profile field event, aiding Saunders in her mission to ‘make shot put cool again’. It also added a significant follower count to her social media platforms, widening her reach, an additional motivator for the South Carolina native in winning Olympic bling.

Highest of highs to lowest of lows

Two years after returning from Rio to a celebratory parade through her local town, Charleston, Saunders’ mental health hit the skids.

The lull following the excitement of her triumphant return had ebbed, leaving Saunders, who was now back at the University of Mississippi, facing a downward spiral of depression and anxiety. Much of that suffering was tied up in her self-worth wrapped up in being an athlete.

“I based my value of myself on my value in a sport. So, when I would see that value start to deteriorate, I would place that value on myself. So it would put me into a downward spiral,” she told Olympics.com in 2020

But therapy helped her realise she was not her sport, but her own person who is good at what she does, which is where the Hulk comes in. With the green hair and wearing a Hulk mask, Saunders draws from the deepest frustrations of her difficult childhood when she competes, combining both inner and physical strength to launch the 4kg shot put as far as she can with a roar to help it on its way.

But when the competition is done, Saunders leaves the Hulk persona on the field of play and goes back to being Raven; an important and life-saving distinction.

Saunders reached such a low point two years on from Rio that she contemplated suicide.

Reaching out to her therapist in that moment proved her salvation, and ongoing therapy, tools to help avoid reaching such a low point again, and a strong support network of family and friends enables Saunders to manage the illness. One of the biggest lessons for Saunders? Recognising that sharing does not make you a burden on others and can often lighten the load.

“I remember that first step was very scary and it made me very vulnerable, but I was so happy that I did it,” she said.

“A lot of times when you’re going through troubles and pains and trials and tribulations, if you find other people that say, ‘Hey, I’m going through the same thing’ it makes it easier because you think you’re not in the fight alone.”

Saunders now uses her own experiences and position as an athlete to inspire others in similar situations, such as partnering with mental and physical health awareness organisation Well Beings to try to de-stigmatise negativity towards mental illness. In the past, she says in a video on the website, depression was something that people always brushed aside, particularly in poverty-stricken Black communities such as where she grew up. Using her platform to be real about her own ongoing challenges, and sharing ideas that help her manage, enables Saunders to influence perhaps more reluctant sections of society.

“It’s OK to need people,” she told news agency Associated Press following her silver-medal win in Japan, “and I feel like in our community, a lot of times through history, we haven’t had access to the resources to be able to do that.

“These days though, even just by telling our stories as regular people – or athletes or artists or singers or dancers or whatever the case may be – that people, no matter who you may be, can feel that connection,” she explained.

Juneteenth icon

That same message of unity is at the forefront of Sunday’s Juneteenth celebrations on June 19, which commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans were informed of their freedom following the end of the Civil War. The annual celebration across the US, and increasingly worldwide, has been recognised since the late 1800s but officially became a federal holiday in 2021.

Gatherings were initially a time for reassuring each other, prayer and for reconnecting with family members. These core values remain, accompanied by an emphasis on education and achievement. Friends and family meet for barbecues and picnics and to play games, while events such as parades and talks from guest speakers celebrate Black culture and success stories.

Saunders is surely the personification of this new era, joining other Olympians who are speaking their truth on the major issues of the day to use their influence for the greater good. Icons such as artistic gymnast Simone Biles have also been open about their own mental health challenges and Saunders took a leaf out of her book by withdrawing from the final event of the 2021 season to manage her wellbeing.

“I was going to compete one last time this season (@americantrackleague) but it is my job to take care of my mental (health) FIRST!!!!,” Saunders posted on Twitter.

Saunders knows how much representation matters. When she was growing up, she had few icons to look to but there were a pair of tennis-playing sisters who gave her pause for thought. “I remember looking back and remembering watching Venus and Serena (Williams) playing tennis – young black girls, beads in their hair, unapologetic. That inspired me to be myself.”

Now, Saunders is the one doing the inspiring. Of the wider impact of her Olympic medal, Saunders stated: “To be able to go out here and really inspire so many people of the LGBTQ community, so many people who have been dealing with mental health issues, so many people of the African American community, so many people who are Black all around the world. I really just hope that I can continue to inspire and motivate.”

Raven ‘Hulk’ Saunders, another Black culture success story to add to the lore for future generations celebrating Juneteenth.