The Olympic shot put competition veered towards a gender controversy of its own in Paris on Thursday with non-binary USA athlete Raven Saunders qualifying for the final.
Saunders, back competing after an 18-month ban for missing three doping tests, first caused a stir by adopting the alter-ego of ‘The Hulk’ – before taking the character to a new level.
Appearing in the games today, they wore a mask, their hair was dyed neon green and purple, gold grills covered their teeth and long fingernails on their left hand were bedazzled in Team USA colors, with the letters H-U-L-K.
But as BBC commentator Steve Backley introduced Saunders, he mistakenly referred to the athlete as female and was corrected by his co-commentator Jazmin Sawyers.
‘The colorful character of Raven Saunders back. Good to see her back, sort of. Sort of see her, I mean,’ Backley said, referencing Saunders’ mask, before Sawyers responded.
‘Well we can’t actually see them very well. Raven Saunders is actually non-binary and wearing a mask there – we are quite used to seeing them with interesting attire,’ Backley said around images of a masked Saunders getting ready to compete.
Raven Saunders, the USA star who identifies as non-binary, has reached the shot put final
Olympic commentator Steve Backley (left) was corrected by Jazmin Sawyers (right) after misgendering Saunders during the event in Paris on Thursday
The moment immediately sparked attention on social media, with one viewer posting on X: ‘More gender madness at the Olympics in the women’s shot put. The host introduces Raven Saunders, saying ‘it’s good to see her back’.
‘He is promptly corrected by his co-host, saying ‘they are actually non-binary’. If they’re not a woman, why are they in the women’s competition?’
Another Olympics fan wrote: ‘Anyone supporting this madness is opening the doors for much more to come. Why do we now bother with women’s sports when this continues?’
A different follower said: ‘What’s with the mask thing? And absolutely, if they don’t identify as a woman, they should not be allowed in the women’s competitions.’
But equally, Saunders won over some new fans as well. One tweeted: ‘I’d never heard of Raven Saunders until about 10 minutes, but now I absolutely adore them. The throwing events need more bad a***s!’
And some viewers were pleased to hear Sawyers correcting Backley. One wrote: ‘Love to see field commentator (I assume jaz sawyers) correcting her co-commentator about Raven Saunders’ pronouns’.
Another commented: ‘Applaud Jasmine Sawyers respecting Raven Saunders’ pronouns. Steve Backley not doing so and asking if mask should be allowed.’
But the controversy is the latest chapter of what has been a major talking point across the Paris Games. Women’s boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting have faced the brunt of the scrutiny, with claims they both posses male XY chromosomes. Both Lin and Khelif are fighting for gold medals in the coming days.
Saunders, a Tokyo silver medalist, pictured in action on Thursday during the Paris Games
Saunders made an X sign after getting her medal in Japan for people ‘who are oppressed’
Saunders, meanwhile, won Olympic silver in Tokyo and at the medal ceremony in Japan, crossed their arms and formed an ‘X’ with their wrists. Saunders explained the ‘X’ stood for ‘the intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet.’
Speaking Thursday, Saunders said of their outfit: ‘I’m in full form. I had to remind the people, I am who I am.
‘It is one way to make me stand out and encourage other women. A lot of younger athletes are coming through and they really push their own styles.’
The athlete, who plays piano to relax, has said they use the huge green comic book character of the Hulk to channel their power when competing. ‘That’s when Hulk comes out,’ they added. ‘The Hulk was smashing everything that needed to be smashed.’
After scratching on their first throw, they recorded 17.93 meters on their second and 18.62 on their final to ensure their spot in the final on Friday.
A BBC source said Backley’s comments were ‘unintentional’, adding: ‘Jazmin Sawyers immediately clarifies that Raven Saunders is non-binary for audiences.’
