1 month ago
If you watch nan women's changeable put arena astatine nan Olympics, you mightiness announcement an jock wearing a disguise and shades and sporting vibrant greenish and purple hair.
That would beryllium nary different than Raven Saunders, who has go known for adopting a unique look.
The Tokyo metallic medalist is backmost astatine nan Games and fans will beryllium hoping to spot a repetition of nan Hulk disguise Saunders wore successful 2021. It's not often you spot an Olympics-Marvel crossover.
But why nan concerted effort to person specified a unique appearance? Saunders has revealed nan disguise deters different athletes to boost attraction and self-motivation, but it's besides portion of embracing nan 'Hulk' change ego.
'I for illustration to beryllium my biggest protagonist — I really can't repetition [what I say] because y'all are going to person to bleep retired astir of nan things I opportunity anyway,' Saunders, who prefers they/them pronouns, told Yahoo Sport.
Raven Saunders has wowed fans pinch a unique look - a achromatic mask, shades, and greenish and purple hair
The changeable put prima - who identifies pinch they/them pronouns - is competing astatine a 3rd Olympics successful nan women's category
In Tokyo Saunders went viral for wearing a Hulk mask, portion of embracing an alter-ego
'But beautiful overmuch to sum it up I'm telling myself, "You sewage it, you sewage it, you're a champion, you person to push, you gotta push, cipher is going to springiness it to you, you person to work, you person to grind, you gotta get it."
'Things for illustration that, conscionable a batch of affirmative affirmations to beryllium capable to springiness myself nan powerfulness and beryllium capable to get done what I request to get done (without others interfering).'
Fans for illustration nan look. One wrote connected X: 'I'd ne'er heard of Raven Saunders until astir 10 minutes, but now I perfectly adore them. The throwing events request much bad a**es!'
Making it done qualifying successful seventh, Saunders opted for a achromatic mask, but don't beryllium amazed if you spot nan South Carolina autochthonal wearing a Hulk-themed 1 either.
'Early on, akin to nan Hulk, I had a reliable clip differentiating betwixt nan two; I had a reliable clip controlling erstwhile nan Hulk came retired aliases erstwhile nan Hulk didn't travel out,' Saunders told Yahoo Sport.
'But done my journey, particularly dealing pinch intelligence wellness and things for illustration that, I learned really to compartmentalize, nan aforesaid measurement that Bruce Banner learned to power nan Hulk, learned really to fto nan Hulk travel retired during nan correct moments and that measurement it besides gave him a motion of intelligence peace.
'But erstwhile nan Hulk came out, nan Hulk was smashing everything that needed to beryllium smashed.'
Saunders was primitively assigned nan nickname 'Hulk' owed to having a powerful 5ft 5in frame.
Saunders has explained that wearing nan disguise boosts attraction arsenic different athletes cannot interfere by talking
The American jock took location metallic successful Tokyo and is hoping for 1 amended this time
Yet Saunders' travel to Paris, having debuted successful Rio earlier competing successful Tokyo, has not been an easy one.
In 2021, nan changeable put sensation told Action 5 News that suicidal thoughts had been overbearing connected occasion.
'I wanted to show group that it is real, you cognize location are galore of america that woody pinch this,' Saunders said. 'I wanted to beryllium nan 1 that says thing and showed really adjacent I was, and to personification other going down that way you're not connected your own.'
