THREAD: Who is Raven Saunders? Meet the latest Olympian to protest on the podium trib.al/uJluJfp 
Silver medal-winning shot putter Raven Saunders has been dominating Olympic headlines after making an “X” formation over her head while on the podium in a sign of protest trib.al/5JyBlP7
The International Olympic Committee published a strict set of guidelines that bars competitors participating in the Tokyo games from using the world stage for political protests. This includes no gestures “of a political nature” trib.al/SeNYhix
A Costa Rican gymnast appeared to find a loophole in the Olympic rules that bar political statements, when she made a tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement during the artistic part of her floor routine trib.al/fXJnWW5
US officials have defended Saunders’ symbolic gesture, announcing in a Monday statement that she didn’t break any rules, but may still face punishment from the International Olympic Committee due to the ban on medal ceremony protests trib.al/0rrZ75M
Saunders appeared to reference the threat of a penalty in a tweet late Sunday. “Let them try and take this medal. I’m running across the border even though I can’t swim,” she wrote with a laughing emoji trib.al/uJluJfp
Saunders competed in a “Hulk” face mask, and later revealed how she identifies with the character. The athlete also celebrated her Olympic success with a twerk, all while sporting her purple and green-dyed hair trib.al/uJluJfp
“For everything I’ve been through mental health-wise, injuries, you know, everything like that … to be able to walk away with a medal … I really just hope that I can continue to inspire and motivate,” Saunders said following her Olympic win this Sunday trib.al/5JyBlP7
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