BBC commentator corrected live on air by colleague after misgendering Olympic athlete in full face mask
The athlete was competing in the women's shotput events.
A BBC commentator was corrected on-air after misgendering a shotput athlete at the Olympics.
The women's shotput event got underway at the Stade de France this morning, with athletes split into two qualification groups.
The first-placed athlete was Canada's Sarah Mitton, who threw a distance of 19.77 metres.
Also among the field was the American athlete Raven Saunders, who turned heads by wearing a full face mask and sunglasses.
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The reason for the face mask is that it eliminates all distraction, while the athlete was also wearing long, acrylic nails in the colours of the US flag.
Ahead of Saunders' first throw of the competition, the lead BBC commentator for the event said: "The colourful character of Raven Saunders back.
"Good to see her back, sort of... sort of see her, I mean."
But Team GB long jump star Jazmin Sawyers, who is on co-commentary for the field events due to an injury ruling her out of the Games, corrected her colleague and noted that Saunders is in fact non-binary.
"Well, we can't see them very well," she said. "Raven Saunders is actually non-binary, and wearing the mask there, we're quite used to seeing them wearing interesting attire on their head. Why not?"
After winning a silver medal in Tokyo three years ago, Saunders held her hands above her head in an 'X' formation - used to represent those who are oppressed.
In response to claims there could be sanctions from the IOC - the body eventually took no action - they replied: "Let them try and take this medal. I'm running across the border even though I can't swim."
They also have an alter-ego used during shotput events, which they call 'Hulk'.
Saunders successfully qualified for the shotput final, and had the seventh-furthest throw of the season prior to the Olympics.
They almost missed the Games after accepting an 18-month suspension in March 2023 for missing three doping tests over whereabouts failures.
The ban was backdated, meaning Saunders was able to return to competition in February. They said they took 'full responsibility' over the missed tests.
Ryan Smart