Raven Saunders

Raven Saunders (born May 15, 1996) is an American track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and discus throw. She won three NCAA collegiate titles in the shot put for the University of Mississippi. She was a world junior medalist in 2014 and the Pan American junior champion in 2015. She holds a personal record of 19.33 m (63 ft 5 in) for the shot put.

Raven Saunders
Personal information
NationalityUnited States
Born (1996-05-15) May 15, 1996
Charleston, South Carolina
Height5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Sport
SportTrack and field
Event(s)Shot put, discus throw
College teamOle Miss Rebels
Coached byConnie Price-Smith
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)Shot put: 19.33 m (63 ft 5 in)
Discus: 56.85 m (186 ft 6 in)
Updated on July 2016.

Prep

Saunders attended Burke High School in Charleston, South Carolina and competed in track and field while there. In April 2014 she broke the national high school record for the shot put with a mark of 17.27 m (56 ft 7 3⁄4 in). She was nominated as the Gatorade Female Track and Field Athlete of the Year for her efforts.[1]

NCAA

Raven Saunders went on to attend Southern Illinois University before moving to University of Mississippi and competing for the Ole Miss Rebels track team.

She was highly successful as a Southern Illinois Salukis, winning the shot put titles at the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships, 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships.[2]

She is the first American junior athlete to throw beyond eighteen metres. She continued to improve her American junior records and broke the Missouri Valley Conference record.[3]

She was highly successful as an Ole Miss Rebels, winning the shot put titles at the 2016 Southeastern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, placing 12th at 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships, winning shot put titles at 2016 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships.[3][4]

She broke the 23-year-old outdoor championship record with her shot put throw of 19.33 m (63 ft 5 in) in 2016.[5]

World Competition

Raven placed first at the 2014 US Junior Championships.[6] Saunders made her international debut at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics in Eugene, Oregon and took the silver medal behind Guo Tianqian of China (who was Asian champion one year later).[7][8] Saunders raised funds through the internet in order to attend the meeting, which was nearly 3000 miles away from her hometown in South Carolina.[9]

The following year, Raven placed eighth at the 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and topped the podium at the 2015 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships – she beat the runner-up by over two and a half metres and her throw of 18.27 m (59 ft 11 1⁄4 in) was a new Pan American Junior championship record.[10]

Saunders returned an improved athlete for the 2016 United States Olympic Trials and successfully made her first Olympic team with a best of 19.24 m (63 ft 1 1⁄4 in), coming second only to World medalist Michelle Carter.[11]

International competitions
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
2014 World Junior Championships Eugene, United States 2nd Shot put 16.63 m
2015 Pan American Junior Championships Edmonton, Canada 1st Shot put 18.27 m CR
2016 NACAC U23 Championships San Salvador, El Salvador 1st Shot put 18.49 m
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 5th Shot put 19.35 m
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom 10th Shot put 17.86 m

National titles

References
  1. Raven Saunders. Gatorade. Retrieved on 2016-07-14.
  2. Southern Illinois Salukis Raven Saunders TFRRS.org. Retrieved on August 5, 2016.
  3. Raven Saunders. Ole Miss Rebels. Retrieved on 2016-07-14.
  4. Ole Miss Rebels Raven Saunders TFRRS.org. Retrieved on August 5, 2016.
  5. Mulkeen, Jon (2016-06-11). Lawson and Brazier rewrite history at NCAA Championships. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-07-14.
  6. 2014 USA Junior Championships Results – 7/5/2014 to 7/6/2014 Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon USATF. Retrieved on August 5, 2016.
  7. Robinson, Javier Clavelo (2014-07-26). Report: women's shot put – IAAF World Junior Championships, Oregon 2014. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-07-14.
  8. China add four gold on final day to finish on top at Asian Championships. IAAF (2015-06-07). Retrieved on 2016-07-14.
  9. Raven's one shot. Spikes Magazine (2014-08-05). Retrieved on 2016-07-14.
  10. Clavelo Robinson, Javier (2015-08-03)Aguilar breaks world junior javelin record at Pan American Junior Championships. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-07-14.
  11. Hartsell, Jeff (2016-07-08). Burke’s Raven Saunders on Olympic dream: ‘It’s crazy’. Post and Courier. Retrieved on 2016-07-14.
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