Olympic silver medalist Raven Saunders’ mother passed away on Tuesday in Orlando, Florida.
WBTW -TV reported that Raven’s mother, Clarissa Saunders, recently was in Florida attending a watch party to see Raven compete in the Tokyo Olympics.
The silver medalist shared a touching post about her mother on Instagram along with videos of the two together.
“My heart and my soul cries out rn, but Ik, my mom, is in a great space. I’ll miss your love, your smile, your hugs, your advice, your jokiness, your random twerks 🤣. Our last conversation was one of the best ever. Mama, I know you love me with every fiber in your body. I’ll make sure Tanzy is ok and taken care of. Your grandkids, when born, will know how wonderful and beautiful of a woman you were. Always and forever, your Firstborn. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🥺🙏🏾 Mama and God, please watch over and protect our family,” Raven said.
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As Sister 2 Sister previously reported, Raven has spoken about battling depression over the years and how social media has affected her mental health.
The shotput legend took to Twitter to say some words of love and advise her followers she’d be taking time away from social media.
She wrote, “Hoping off social media for a while to take care of my mental and my family. My mama was a great woman and will forever live through me. My number one guardian angel, I will always and forever love you.”
Hoping off social media for a while to take care of my mental and my family. My mama was a great woman and will forever live through me. My number one guardian angel 🙏🏾 I will always and forever love you. https://t.co/XWOjE56EjI
— Raven HULK Saunders (@GiveMe1Shot) August 3, 2021
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Raven has recently been in the headlines after winning the silver medal in her shotput competition and shaking up social media when she made an “X” gesture during her medal ceremony. She said the “X” is meant to symbolize “the intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet.”
The athlete was expected to return home on Thursday from Tokyo. However, her family members are attempting to have her return to the U.S. before then.