Raven Saunders gets 18-month ban for missed doping tests

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — American shot put medalist Raven Saunders has been suspended for 18 months for failing to show up for doping tests. She won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced the sanction for the 26-year-old, saying she had committed three “whereabouts failures” within a 12-month period ending on Aug. 15. At the end of the medal presentation at the 2021 Olympics, she stepped off the podium and formed an “X” with her wrists. She explained the “X” stood for “the intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet.” Saunders finished fourth at U.S. nationals last year and did not qualify for worlds.