Silver medalist in women’s shot put at the Tokyo Olympics, Raven Saunders, has been handed a 30-month suspension after committing three whereabouts violations within a 12-month period, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced today.
The 29-year-old American athlete, who finished fifth at the Rio 2016 Olympics, claimed silver in Tokyo, and placed 11th at the Paris 2024 Games, failed to provide accurate whereabouts information on April 19, 2024, May 17, 2024, and December 26, 2024.
Under anti-doping rules, the standard penalty for a first whereabouts offense is usually one to two years. However, this marks Saunders’ second violation, leading USADA to impose a harsher 30-month ban.
Previously, she served an 18-month suspension for three whereabouts failures between August 2022 and February 2024.
Her latest suspension officially began on December 26, 2024, and all results achieved since that date have been disqualified.
