Leftists praise 'beautiful' twerking performance from US shot putter Raven Saunders; several say it gave them 'life'

United States shot putter Raven Saunders isn't known merely for winning the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics and making a controversial "X" with her arms on the podium.

Turns out Saunders also is quite the aficionado of twerking — i.e., the highly sexualized dance move in which females bend over and shake their buttocks up and down.

And yes, Saunders decided it would be a good idea to toss off a celebratory twerk for the cameras following her performance over the weekend:

Raven Saunders Twerkingyoutu.be

You can watch Saunders' twerk with more before and after footage along with commentary via NBC Sports, which appeared to quickly cut away from her after the powers that be realized what she was up to.

Leftists loved Saunders' twerk; several say it gave them 'life'

While it will come as no surprise that many observers found Saunders' twerk distasteful and inappropriate, it also may not be a shock that leftists loved her show of impropriety.

The Huffington Post called Saunders' twerk "fun" and chided NBC Sports for cutting away from it: "C'mon, major network, can't stand a bit of impromptu revelry in an Olympics missing the electricity of the crowd?"

Others on Twitter couldn't have agreed more:

• "She is a gem with the dopest energy!" one commenter declared. "And her twerk at the end yesterday gave me life."
• "Raven Saunders giving me life with her little twerk while ago!" another user exclaimed. "GET IT GIRL!!"
• "There is truly nothing like Black Joy cause after enduring 40deg heat and still winning silver medal #RavenSaunders is breathing life into the #OlympicGames with her flair, the epic hair flip, and the legendary twerk seen across the world," another commenter observed.
• "Raven Saunders' twerk just saved my life," another user noted.
• "Raven Saunders hit that celebratory twerk, and you love to see it," another commenter wrote.
• "Raven Saunders with the hair flip and twerk is everything," another user agreed.
• "Yassssss twerk some beautiful," another commenter said.

Anything else?

The International Olympics Committee is reviewing Saunders' "X" gesture she made with her arms on the podium upon receiving her silver medal.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams told reporters at a media briefing Monday that the committee is investigating whether the gesture is a violation of its protest ban and considering taking additional steps.

"Let them try and take this medal. I'm running across the border even though I can't swim," Saunders responded on Twitter with a laughing emoji. She added that her gesture was meant to signify "the intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet."