Olympic fans left confused as Raven Saunders wears a bizarre mask and shades combination for the shot put event – but ‘The Hulk’ has revealed the powerful reason behind it

If you watch the women’s shot put at the Olympics, you might see an athlete wearing a mask and shoes and bright green and purple hair.

That is none other than Raven Saunders, who became known for his distinctive look.

The Tokyo silver medalist is back at the Games, and fans are hoping for a repeat of the Hulk mask Saunders wore in 2021. It’s not often you see a crossover between the Olympics and Marvel.

But why the concerted effort to have such a striking appearance? Saunders revealed that the mask is a deterrent to other athletes to encourage focus and self-motivation, but it is also part of embracing the alter ego ‘Hulk’.

‘I want to be my biggest supporter – I really can’t repeat it [what I say] “Because you guys have to squeak out most of the things I say anyway,” said Saunders, who prefers the pronouns “they” and “them.” Yahoo Sports.

The shot putter – who identifies with the pronouns ‘they’/’them’ – is competing in a third Olympic Games in the women’s category

In Tokyo, Saunders went viral for wearing a Hulk mask as part of embracing an alter ego

‘But to sum it up, I say to myself, ‘You can do it, you can do it, you’re a champion, you’ve got to push through, you’ve got to push through, nobody’s going to give it to you, you’ve got to work, you’ve got to push through, you’ve got to make it.’

“Things like that, just a lot of positive affirmations, so I can give myself the strength to do what I need to do (without others interfering).”

Fans like the look of it. One wrote on X: ‘I’d never heard of Raven Saunders until about 10 minutes in but now I’m totally into them. The throwing events need more bad a**es!’

Saunders came through qualifying in seventh place and opted for a black mask, but don’t be surprised if you see the South Carolina native wearing a Hulk-themed one.

“At first, like with the Hulk, I had a hard time distinguishing between the two. I had a hard time telling when the Hulk was coming out and when he wasn’t,” Saunders told Yahoo Sport.

“But throughout my journey, especially dealing with mental health and things like that, I’ve learned how to compartmentalize things. In the same way that Bruce Banner learned to control the Hulk, he learned how to let the Hulk come out at the right times. In that way, it also gave him a sign of mental calm.

“But when the Hulk came out, the Hulk destroyed everything that needed to be destroyed.”

Saunders was originally nicknamed ‘Hulk’ because of his powerful 5’5″ frame.

Still, Saunders’ journey to Paris after making his debut in Rio and then competing in Tokyo was not an easy one.

Saunders explained that wearing the mask helps with concentration because other athletes can’t intervene by talking

The American athlete won silver in Tokyo and hopes for a better result this time

In 2021, the shot put sensation told Action 5 News that suicidal thoughts sometimes became too much for him.

“I wanted to show people that it’s real, you know, there’s a lot of us out there dealing with this,” Saunders said. “I wanted to be the one to say something and show how close I was, and if anyone else is going down that road, you’re not alone.”