Why does Team USA shot-putter Raven Saunders ('The Hulk') wear a face mask? Here's the answer.

Three-time shot put Olympian Raven Saunders typically competes in a signature-themed mask. Most of the time, it’s a Hulk version, and if you’ve never seen something like that before, it certainly will catch your eye and make you wonder why.

Raven’s reason for wearing the mask is very deep and personal. It’s become a representation of their mental health journey and a nod to an alter ego developed out of necessity.

Per Shalise Manza Young of Yahoo! Sports, here’s what Raven previously shared about wearing a Hulk mask:

“Early on, similar to the Hulk, I had a tough time differentiating between the two; I had a tough time controlling when the Hulk came out or when the Hulk didn’t come out,” she said.

“But through my journey, especially dealing with mental health and things like that, I learned how to compartmentalize, the same way that Bruce Banner learned to control the Hulk, learned how to let the Hulk come out during the right moments and that way it also gave him a sign of mental peace.

“But when the Hulk came out, the Hulk was smashing everything that needed to be smashed.”