Saunders’ correct pronouns were immediately pointed out by BBC co-commentator Jazmin Sawyers.
The shot putter, who was rocking purple and green hair during the sporting event, garnered a lot of attention for wearing a face mask during the competition with many viewers wondering the reason.
Now, the reasoning behind them donning a face mask to compete is pretty simple – when trying out for Olympic qualifying events in 2020 and 2021, athletes had no other choice but to wear masks due to Covid rules at the time.
Saunders eventually got used to wearing the mask while shot putting, so it stuck around.
Furthermore, they discovered that wearing the mask stopped them from ‘getting caught up in pre-competition chat’.
It helped the athlete focus on their mind rather than anything else.
During the shot put event, Backley, a former world record Team GB javelin thrower, could be heard saying: “The colourful character of Raven Saunders back.
“Good to see her back, sort of. Sort of see her, I mean.”
Sawyers, a Great Britain long jumper, then responded: “Well we can’t see them very well.
