.jpg) Berry in 2018 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1989-06-29)June 29, 1989 (age 36) |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 88 kg (194 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  United States |
| Sport | Track and field |
Event | Hammer throw |
| College team | Southern Illinois University Carbondale |
| Club | NYAC &NIKE |
| Turned pro | 2011 |
Gwendolyn Denise Berry (born June 29, 1989) is an Americantrack and field athlete who specializes in thehammer throw. Her mark of 77.78 m (255 ft 2 in) on June 8, 2018, ranks her #7 on theall-time list. She also holds the world record in theweight throw with a mark of 25.60 m (83 ft11+3⁄4 in) set in March 2017.[1] She is a three-time national champion in the weight throw at theUSA Indoor Track and Field Championships. She was the gold medalist in the hammer at the2014 Pan American Sports Festival. She is also the2019 Pan American Games Champion.
Gwen Berry was born to Michael Berry and Laura Hayes; she grew up inFlorissant, Missouri and attendedMcCluer High School.[2] While there she was abasketball player but started taking part in track in the off-season and competed in thetriple jump. She began studying for a degree in psychology and criminal justice atSouthern Illinois University Carbondale in 2007. She took up throwing events for theSouthern Illinois Salukis collegiate team and came fourth in the hammer throw at the 2008 USA Junior Championships.[3]
Her throwing improved the following year and she was theMissouri Valley Conference (MVC) champion in theweight throw andshot put and reached eleventh in the former event at theNCAA Indoor Championships. In 2010, she earned NCAAAll-American honours in the weight throw andshot put indoors and the hammer throw outdoors (taking fourth at the2010 NCAA Outdoors).[3] That season she set bests of 16.30 m (53 ft5+1⁄2 in) for the shot put, 20.48 m (67 ft2+1⁄4 in) for the weight throw and 62.55 m (205 ft2+1⁄2 in) for the hammer throw.[4]
Berry's international debut for the United States came at the2010 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics. She took the hammer bronze, behindHeather Steacy and fellow Salukis athleteJeneva McCall.[5]
In her last season at Southern Illinois, Berry reached new peaks. A shot put best of 16.99 m (55 ft8+3⁄4 in) brought her the MVC outdoor title and she later placed twelfth at the2011 Championships.[4] In the weight throw she 22.71 m (74 ft 6 in) inBloomington, Indiana, which placed her second in the world for the event that year behindAmber Campbell.[6] She entered as favourite for theweight throw at theNCAA Indoor Championships, but performed poorly, ending in tenth, and commented that she was psychologically affected by being one of the smaller athletes there. Moving to the outdoor season, she threw a personal record to win the hammer at theDrake Relays.[7] Her mark of 70.52 m (231 ft4+1⁄4 in) ranked her in the world's top 25 athletes for the year. Nerves again affected her at the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships, as she failed to reach the final despite being the country's third best thrower that year, behindJessica Cosby and Amber Campbell.[8]
After graduation, Berry continued competing with a focus on weight throw in the indoor season and hammer throw in the outdoor season. At the2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships she ranked sixth. In the 2012 season she came third in the weight throw at the2012 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. A new hammer best of 71.95 m (236 ft1⁄2 in) came in April and she entered the2012 United States Olympic Trials as the number two ranked American woman after Jessica Cosby.[4][9] She did not live up to her previous performance, however, and ended in seventh with a mark of 68.84 m (225 ft 10 in). Despite the failure, she was approached byNew York Athletic Club, who encouraged her to join them and remain in the sport.[2]
Berry secured her first national title at the2013 USA Indoors, launching the weight throw 24.70 m (81 ft1⁄4 in) to beat out a field including Amber Campbell and Jeneva McCall.[10] She achieved a best of 73.81 m (242 ft1+3⁄4 in) for the hammer that year, but again did not perform well at the2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, placing ninth.[4] She defended her weight throw national title in2014.[11] The 2014 season marked her first foray into the international professional circuit and she ranked eighth on the2014 IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge.[12] She was seventh at the2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, but was still selected for thePan American Sports Festival. There, she came away with a gold medal in a season's best of 72.04 m (236 ft 4 in) and beat three-time world championYipsi Moreno of Cuba, whose career was an inspiration for Berry.[2] She enjoyed her highest world ranking that season, placing 17th overall.[13]
Berry skipped the 2015 indoor season and again competed on the circuit, placing tenth in the2015 IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge final standings (second only toAmanda Bingson among Americans).[14] Berry cleared seventy metres for the first time nationally at the2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, but strong performances by Campbell,DeAnna Price and Bingson left her in fifth place overall.[15]
At the start of 2016, Berry was dominant in the weight throw, winning four straight meetings with throws over 24 meters, including a third career win at the2016 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, and ranking number one globally for the season. Her hammer throw was also much improved with consistent throws beyond seventy meters.[4] Although a throw of 76.31 m (250 ft4+1⁄4 in) at theTucson Elite Classic was initially recorded as a national record, that distance along with all of Berry's performances from March to June 2016 were annulled due to violation of anti-doping procedures.[16][17]
Berry placed second inhammer throw behind Team USA teammatesAmber Campbell, ahead ofDeAnna Price at2016 Olympic Trials and represented theUnited States at2016 Summer Olympics. She placed 14th.
At the2020 Olympic Trials, Berry placed third in the hammer throw behindDeAnna Price and Brooke Anderson and represented theUnited States at the2020 Summer Olympics, where she qualified for the final and finished 11th.
Berry has received two doping violation suspensions issued byUSADA during her career. In 2016 she received a three-month suspension for using a prohibited medication.[18] In August 2023, Berry was given a 16-month suspension byUSADA after testing positive forspironolactone.[19]
During the award ceremony in the2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, Berry was awarded the gold medal for the hammer throw. Sheraised her fist at the end of the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" in protest against “injustice” in America "and a president who's making it worse."[20][21] Berry's protests led the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to issue new guidelines in order to allow peaceful expressions of protest "in support of racial and social justice for all human beings."[22] Berry has stated: "I'm here to represent those who died [due] to this systemic racism."[23][24][25]
TheInternational Olympic Committee reprimanded Berry and placed her on probation for 12 months, prohibiting her from any form of protest for a year. Her act cost her sponsorships, and she estimated that she lost $50,000.[26]
In June 2021, during the U.S. Olympic track and field trials for the2020 Tokyo Olympics, Berry turned away from theU.S. flag during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner".[27] She said of the national anthem's timing that "I feel like it was a set-up".[27] According to a spokesperson for USA Track and Field who stated, "The national anthem is played every day according to a previously published schedule", the anthem was scheduled to be played at 5:20 p.m., though on this occasion the music started at 5:25 p.m.[28] Berry claims an official told her the anthem would play prior to her arrival on the podium.[29] Berry has accused critics of her protest of favoring "patriotism over basic morality."[30]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | NACAC U23 Championships | Miramar, United States | 3rd | Hammer throw | 62.55 m |
| 2014 | Pan American Sports Festival | Mexico City, Mexico | 1st | Hammer throw | 72.04 m |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 14th (q) | Hammer throw | 69.90 m |
| 2017 | World Championships | London,United Kingdom | 14th (q) | Hammer throw | 69.12 m |
| 2019 | Pan American Games | Lima, Peru | 1st | Hammer throw | 74.62 m |
| World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 10th (q) | Hammer throw | 71.72 m1 | |
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 11th | Hammer throw | 71.35 m |
1No mark in the final
|
