Gwendolyn Denise Berry (born June 29, 1989) is an American

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete who specializes in the

hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consis ...

. Her mark of on June 8, 2018, ranks her #7 on the all time list. She also holds the world record in the

weight throw Two sports have events that fall under the name of weight throw one being the track and field event and the other being the Scottish highland games events. The track and field event is most popular in the United States as an indoor equivalent t ...

with a mark of set in March 2017. She is a three-time national champion in the weight throw at the

USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. In years which feature a World Indoor Championships in ...

. She was the gold medalist in the hammer at the 2014 Pan American Sports Festival. She is also the 2019 Pan American Games Champion.

Career

Early life and college

Gwen Berry was born to Michael Berry and Laura Hayes; she grew up in

Florissant, Missouri Florissant () is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, within Greater St. Louis. It is a middle class, second-ring northern suburb of St. Louis. Based on the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 52,533, making it the 12 ...

and attended

McCluer High School McCluer High School is a high school located in Florissant, Missouri. It is a part of the Ferguson-Florissant School District. The principal is Cedric Gerald, and the school is the home of the McCluer Comets. Pre-history When McCluer opened in ...

. While there she was a

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player but started taking part in track in the off-season and competed in the

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

. She began studying for a degree in psychology and criminal justice at

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enrolls students from all 50 s ...

in 2007. She took up throwing events for the

Southern Illinois Salukis The Southern Illinois Salukis are the varsity athletic teams representing Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The nickname comes from the Saluki, the Royal Dog of Egypt and the Persian greyhound, which ties into the fact that southern Illino ...

collegiate team and came fourth in the hammer throw at the 2008 USA Junior Championships. Her throwing improved the following year and she was the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

(MVC) champion in the

and

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

and reached eleventh in the former event at the NCAA Indoor Championships. In 2010, she earned NCAA

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n honours in the weight throw and

indoors and the hammer throw outdoors (taking fourth at the 2010 NCAA Outdoors).Gwen Berry
. SIU Salukis. Retrieved on May 29, 2016. That season she set bests of for the shot put, for the weight throw and for the hammer throw.Gwen Berry
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on May 29, 2016. Berry's international debut for the United States came at the

2010 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics The 6th NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics The NACAC U23 Championships in Athletics is an under-23 athletics competition held between the member associations of the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association The N ...

. She took the hammer bronze, behind Heather Steacy and fellow Salukis athlete Jeneva McCall. In her last season at Southern Illinois, Berry reached new peaks. A shot put best of brought her the MVC outdoor title and she later placed twelfth at the 2011 Championships. In the weight throw she in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...

, which placed her second in the world for the event that year behind Amber Campbell. She entered as favourite for the

at the NCAA 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 the

Drake Relays The Drake Relays (officially the Drake Relays presented by Xtream powered by Mediacom) is an outdoor track and field event held in Des Moines, Iowa, in Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University. Billed as ''America's Athletic Classic'', it ...

. Her mark of 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, behind

Jessica Cosby Jessica Cosby (born May 31, 1982) is an American hammer thrower. She competed at the 2007 World Championships and the 2008 Olympic Games without reaching the final. Her personal best throw is 74.2 metres, achieved on May 22, 2014, in Tucson, ...

and Amber Campbell.

Professional

After graduation, Berry continued competing with a focus on weight throw in the indoor season and hammer throw in the outdoor season. At the 2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships she ranked sixth. In the 2012 season she came third in the weight throw at the

2012 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The 2012 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships was held at Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Organized by USA Track and Field (USATF), the two-day competition took place on February 25–26, in conjunction with the USA In ...

. A new hammer best of came in April and she entered the 2012 United States Olympic Trials as the number two ranked American woman after Jessica Cosby. She did not live up to her previous performance, however, and ended in seventh with a mark of . Despite the failure, she was approached by

New York Athletic Club The New York Athletic Club is a private social club and athletic club in New York state. Founded in 1868, the club has approximately 8,600 members and two facilities: the City House, located at 180 Central Park South in Manhattan, and Travers ...

, who encouraged her to join them and remain in the sport.Gwen Berry: Road to Success by E. Brown
E. Brown/Youtube. Retrieved on May 29, 2016. Berry secured her first national title at the 2013 USA Indoors, launching the weight throw to beat out a field including Amber Campbell and Jeneva McCall. She achieved a best of for the hammer that year, but again did not perform well at the

2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships was held at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. Organised by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 20–23 in conjunction with the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Champions ...

, placing ninth. She defended her weight throw national title in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. The 2014 season marked her first foray into the international professional circuit and she ranked eighth on the

2014 IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge The 2014 IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge was the fifth edition of the annual, global series of hammer throw competitions organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. The winners were Krisztián Pars of Hungary (244.84 metres) a ...

. She was seventh at the

2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships was held at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California. Organised by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 26–29 in conjunction with the USA Junior Combined Events Outdoor ...

, but was still selected for the Pan American Sports Festival. There, she came away with a gold medal in a season's best of and beat three-time world champion

Yipsi Moreno Yipsi Moreno González (born November 19, 1980, in Camagüey) is a Cuban hammer thrower. She is a triple world champion and Olympic gold medalist, a former world junior record holder and current area record holder. In 2016, after the 2008 Ol ...

of Cuba, whose career was an inspiration for Berry. She enjoyed her highest world ranking that season, placing 17th overall. Berry skipped the 2015 indoor season and again competed on the circuit, placing tenth in the 2015 IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge final standings (second only to Amanda Bingson among Americans). Berry cleared seventy metres for the first time nationally at the

2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Hayward Field, University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. Organized by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 25–28 and served as the national championships in ...

, but strong performances by Campbell,

DeAnna Price DeAnna Marie Price (born June 8, 1993) is an American track and field athlete competing primarily in the hammer throw. Price's personal best in the hammer is , the American record, set at the 2021 US Olympic trials. The throw ranks her as th ...

and Bingson left her in fifth place overall. Berry placed second in

behind Team USA teammates Amber Campbell, ahead of

at 2016 Olympic Trials and represented the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

. She placed 14th. At the 2020 Olympic Trials, Berry placed third in the hammer throw behind

and Brooke Anderson and represented the

at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

, where she qualified for the final and finished 11th.

American record

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 the

2016 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The 2016 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships was held at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon. Organised by USA Track and Field (USATF), the two-day competition took place from March 11 to March 12 and served as the national champi ...

, and ranking number one globally for the season. Her hammer throw was also much improved with consistent throws beyond seventy meters. A best of in Memphis was shortly followed by a national record and North American record throw of at the Tucson Elite Classic. However, performances from March to June 2016 were annulled due to violation of anti-doping procedues.

Support for U.S. national anthem kneeling protests

During the award ceremony in the

2019 Pan American Games The 2019 Pan American Games ( es, Juegos Panamericanos de 2019, links=no), officially the XVIII Pan American Games and commonly known as the Lima 2019 Pan-Am Games or Lima 2019 ( qu, Limaq 2019), were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Spo ...

in Lima, Peru. Berry was awarded the gold medal for the hammer throw, she raised her fist at the end of the playing of "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

" in protest against “injustice” in America "and a president who's making it worse." 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." Berry has stated: "I'm here to represent those who died ueto this systemic racism." The

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

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. In June 2021, during the U.S. Olympic track and field trials for the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

, Berry turned away from the

U.S. flag The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the ca ...

during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner". She said of the national anthem's timing that "I feel like it was a set-up". 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. Berry claims an official told her the anthem would play prior to her arrival on the podium. Berry has accused critics of her protest of favoring "patriotism over basic morality."

Personal records

;Outdoor *

Shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

– 16.99 m (2011) Cedar Falls (USA) *

Hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consis ...

– 77.78 m (2018) ;Indoor *

– 16.30 m (2010) Charleston (USA) *

Weight throw Two sports have events that fall under the name of weight throw one being the track and field event and the other being the Scottish highland games events. The track and field event is most popular in the United States as an indoor equivalent t ...

– 25.60m (2017) (WR)

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

(USA)

International competitions

¹No mark in the final

National titles

: 2013,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Olym ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

References

External links

*
All-Athletics profile

Video interview
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Gwen Living people 1989 births People from Florissant, Missouri Sportspeople from St. Louis County, Missouri Track and field athletes from Missouri American female hammer throwers Female weight throwers Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 Pan American Games African-American female track and field athletes Southern Illinois Salukis women's track and field athletes USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners Pan American Games gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women