Anti-doping agency takes action
Masked athletics star collects long lock
10.09.2025 – 5:13 p.m.Reading time: 1 min.
When Raven Saunders is involved in the shot put, it stands out. But the 29-year-old will be missing in the near future.
The American shot put Raven Saunders is closed for two and a half years. The reason for this is again violations of the obligation to report within the framework of anti-doping regulations. The US anti-doping agency (USADA) announced that the 29-year-old committed three so-called reporting and control failures within one year-on April 19, May 17 and December 26, 2024.
At that time, Saunders was part of the US test pool and therefore obliged to regularly tell her whereabouts in order to be available for unannounced doping controls. Since it was already closed for 18 months from August 2022 to February 2024 due to the same violation of the rule, the punishment now imposed is significantly harder.
The new lock is 30 months and applies retrospectively from December 26, 2024. All results have been deleted since this date.
The Tokyo’s Olympic second had previously ranked fifth at the 2016 games. Saunders drew attention to himself at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and Paris with a mask. The mask was part of a statement with which it campaigned for marginalized groups – including for black people and people with mental illnesses. At the time, Saunders said “she wanted to fight for all people who live in a system that suppresses it”. The symbolism of her mask and her gesture on the podium-an X sign crossed above her head-should express that you would compete for those affected.