Raven Saunders
United States
Olympic Medals
Personal Bests
Shot Put
U.S. Olympic Trials
19.96
6/24/2021
Hammer Throw
57.97
5/12/2016
Discus Throw
56.85
3/19/2016
Major Championships
The XXXII Olympic Games - Shot Put
19.79
The XXXI Olympic Games - Shot Put
19.35
Recent Mentions
A fitting theme for the penultimate day of competition at the 2024 Olympic Trials: it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.
Just ask Monae’ Nichols, who sat in fourth place in the final of the long jump competition. Nichols has a 6.97m personal best from 2022, but heading into Trials she was one centimeter shy of the Olympic qualifying standard with a 6.85m season’s best. In her last jump of the competition, Nichols came up clutch in multiple ways, jumping her way from 5th into 3rd and improving her season’s best to the 6.86m auto-qualifier.
The long jump was full of drama, with eventual champion Tara Davis-Woodhall needing a mark in the third round just to keep jumping and eventually pulling out a 7.00m leap in the fifth round to defend her national title. And three different women held the third position in the final round of competition, with Lex Brown starting the round in third at 6.77m, then Quanesha Burks landing a 6.80m jump, and finally Nichols taking the critical final spot with her final effort. There’s plenty of discourse around what role field events should play in the sport, and the women’s long jump final was a perfect example of why the stakes, drama, and rivalries of the field half of the sport deserve a bigger spotlight.
At the top of the ticket, the 200m finals went largely according to form with Gabby Thomas and Noah Lyles defending their U.S. titles in speedy times — 21.81 and 19.53. Both Thomas and Lyles finished third in Tokyo but head into Paris the favorite for gold. Behind Thomas, however, was a wild ride as #2 seed Sha’Carri Richardson was bested by 2019 World silver medalist Brittany Brown and NCAA champion McKenzie Long. Brown is an incredible gamer, making the team with a lifetime best of 21.90, and Long bounced back well after missing the final in the 100m.
The 10,000m drama isn’t just late-breaking; it may continue after the Trials end as Trials champ Weini Kelati secured her spot but 2nd- and 3rd-placers Parker Valby and Karissa Schweizer will have to await the final world rankings to know if they have a spot on the Olympic starting line. In the women’s shot put, Tokyo silver medalist Raven Saunders set their third season’s best in the competition after improving from 19.17m to 19.54m in the qualifying round, throwing 19.88m in the first round of the final and 19.90m on the last throw to finish 2nd and secure another spot on Team USA. Trials champ (and 2x World champ) Chase Jackson took home another U.S. title, but it also took her a little extra time and effort as she sat in fourth place halfway through the competition and only secured her Olympic spot with a 20.10m throw in the fourth round.
Even when the eventual outcome is the top seed comes out victorious, a lot of anxiety, drama, and excitement can emerge along the way. The beauty of watching any track and field competition from start to finish is being able to take the roller coaster ride along with the athletes, and to feel the rush they feel when the script gets flipped in the final moments.
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"Initially, when I found out I broke down. I honestly went Hulk mode on a wall in the village. My room wall was torn out with a steel beam. It’s got a couple of dents in it. I went crazy. I'm not gonna lie. As I thought about how happy she was in those moments – She was actually with Athing Mu’s high school coach and Tara Davis’ mom in Orlando having the time of her life. So I think about her smile and her love and all the things and lessons that she gave me and taught me and how happy she would be for me in this moment. I really find a lot of peace in it. I feel like you really find the true beauty of life in those high and low moments. Because just as high as I was, I went just as low as I went so fast."
Raven Saunders and I recorded this while she was in attendance at the Prefontaine Classic and popped by The Magic Boost tent. We traded a couple of messages over Twitter about how we wanted to make this interview happen for a while because she’s one of the funniest personalities in the sport and the throws deserve more love. The last time people may have seen her on TV was twerking shortly after winning a silver medal in the shot put at the Tokyo Olympics. You could have also seen her on the news since she raised her arms in an X to protest racial and social injustice in America. Just a few days later, her mother, Clarissa, passed away. Raven decided to take a short break from social media. In this episode, we touch on it all as well as where she sees the conversation around athlete mental health going from here since she’s been very outspoken about her own past struggles.
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It was as a spicy day of qualifying madness and heart-wrenching finals! But what feels like it should be an Olympic event that isn’t? Dana keeping Chris and Kyle on track. Some favorites getting the job done while others falter. Team Torch Talk had a celebrity sighting of our own as we battle sleep deprivation, but there was plenty of energy to discuss the Men’s Discus, Women’s 100m, Mixed Gender 4x400 relay, Women’s shot put and all the exciting prelims that happened on whatever channel you can find the races on.
Also discussed in this episode:
-Energetic celebrations and fashion statements
– A few stars had off performances that cast doubts for the finals...if they made it that far
- Our parting thoughts on the mixed relay
-The battle of the 19-year-olds Athing Mu and Keely Hodgkinson
+ Much more...
TUNE IN AND LISTEN TO TORCH TALK WITH CHRIS, KYLE AND DANA. Our daily podcast covering the Olympics is presented by Hayward Magic.
Hayward Magic is a really unique and fresh editorial channel on IG that captures the magic and intensity of track & field. Their mantra is #makeittohayward because Hayward is not just a place. It’s a state of mind. It's where guts meet magic. All athletes, fans and feats of guts welcome! @HaywardMagic on Instagram.
HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST
🎙️ Subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
💵 Pledge any dollar amount to us on Patreon.com/CITIUSMAG or Hit us on Venmo @CITIUSMAG
👕 Pick up merch from the CITIUS MAG store to show your support for the podcast and website.
The first track and field medals of the Tokyo Olympics were decided with Selemon Barega winning gold in the men's 10,000 meters to put Ethiopia back on top of the event for the first time since Kenenisa Bekele and Haile Gebrselassie's reign. Uganda took silver and bronze with Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo deploying team tactics but not quite following the plan. Grant Fisher may be a 10K guy, as much as he may not like that, after taking fifth to earn the top American honors. Plus, what was the gutsiest performance of the day that came out of this race? Find out.
Also discussed in this episode:
– The women's 400m hurdles is set for a major clash of the titans again with smooth showings by Sydney McLaughlin, Dalilah Muhammad and Femke Bol
– Why the women's 5,000 meter final may end up being historically fast with Kenya and Ethiopia fielding their stars vs. Sifan Hassan
– How hard will it be for the U.S. to come away with more than one medal in the 100m hurdles after a sweep in 2016?
– No more sleeping on Clayton Murphy as the U.S. puts three men in the final but what's this mean for Nijel Amos?
– Big Throws love to Raven Saunders and Jessica Ramsey
– Examining the Blessing Okagbare positive test for HGH and the subsequent suspension mid-Games
– Kudos for Matt Ludwig making it to Tokyo to replace Sam Kendricks
+ More
TUNE IN AND LISTEN TO TORCH TALK WITH CHRIS, KYLE AND DANA. Our daily podcast covering the Olympics is presented by Hayward Magic.
Hayward Magic is a really unique and fresh editorial channel on IG that captures the magic and intensity of track & field. Their mantra is #makeittohayward because Hayward is not just a place. It’s a state of mind. It's where guts meet magic. All athletes, fans and feats of guts welcome! @HaywardMagic on Instagram.
HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST
🎙️ Subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
💵 Pledge any dollar amount to us on Patreon.com/CITIUSMAG or Hit us on Venmo @CITIUSMAG
👕 Pick up merch from the CITIUS MAG store to show your support for the podcast and website.