Mom of Olympic silver medalist Raven Saunders dies. ‘My number one guardian angel’
The mother of Olympic shot-putter Raven Saunders has died.
Saunders, a South Carolina native who won a silver medal Sunday in the women’s shot put at the Tokyo Olympics, confirmed the news in a Twitter post Tuesday.
“Hoping off social media for a while to take care of my mental and my family,” she wrote. “My mama was a great woman and will forever live through me. My number one guardian angel.”
The tweet was accompanied by a video of her mom, Clarissa Saunders, and sister Tanzania Watson rooting her on from their hometown of Charleston.
“Not being there is a bummer,” Clarissa Saunders said of not being able to be with her daughter in Tokyo. “But hey, we’re cheering from here ... and she knows we’re here cheering for her.”
Raven Saunders’ longtime coach, who was the first to confirm the elder Saunders’ death, said the Olympian’s mother and sister were in Orlando attending Olympic watch parties when she died, according to WCSC.
No further details have been released.
Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg released a statement Tuesday on Clarissa Saunders’ death, calling her “Raven’s strongest supporter.”
“... [She] joined us just this past Friday to cheer her daughter on as she qualified for the Olympic shot put finals,” Tecklenburg said. “On behalf of the citizens of Charleston, we pray for Raven and her family, and join them in grieving this unimaginable loss.”
Raven Saunders recently drew criticism for protesting at Sunday’s medal ceremony, lifting her arms high in the air to form an X. When asked about the gesture, she explained that it represented “the intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet,” the Associated Press reported.
The International Olympic Committee is reportedly investigating. However, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has said Saunders didn’t break any rules related to athlete protests.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This story was originally published August 3, 2021 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Mom of Olympic silver medalist Raven Saunders dies. ‘My number one guardian angel’."