CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD)- Olympic champion and Lowcountry native, Raven Saunders shared a powerful message at Wednesday’s TEDxCharleston event.
Saunders, who took home the silver medal in shotput at the 2021 Tokyo games, used her TEDx talk to discuss the importance of mental health and how each person can unlock their “championship spirit.”
She opened with a personal account of abuse at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend and said she remembered feeling “worthless, powerless, disoriented, and overwhelmed,” emotions she said she also faced at the Olympic games.
So, she turned to track and field, a space where she felt she could be in control. Once she achieved the physical aspect (i.e. winning an Olympic medal), she turned her attention to the mental aspect.
After she received her silver medal, Saunders crossed her arms and formed an “X” on the medals stand, representing the “intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet.”
Saunders explained that even though she knew she could face consequences like having her titles and records stripped, she had a message to share.
“They can take that, but they cannot take this,” Saunders said during the TEDx talk.
Saunders wrapped up her talk with a challenge to the audience:
- When you feel disoriented: set a goal and pick three things you can do to help accomplish that goal
- When you feel worthless: set your value, write it down, and post it somewhere where it can serve as a reminder
- When you feel powerless: take a step back and be appreciative of things that you have and the place you are in life
“What I’m here to tell you guys is that I want you to unlock that championship spirit because it is inside each and every one of you,” she said.
Saunders was just one of more than a dozen Lowcountry changemakers to speak at the TEDx event including former pro-baseball player and inspirational speaker Chris Singleton and members of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.