Gwen Berry has been banned. © AFP / ANDREJ ISAKOVIC

Before the World Cup: doping case in athletics

US hammer thrower Gwen Berry has been banned for 16 months for another doping violation. As the US anti-doping agency Usada announced on Wednesday (local time), the 34-year-old has accepted the ban, which runs retroactively from April 28th.

August 03, 2023

From: dpa

This is Berry's second ban in ten years, so the sentence was correspondingly higher, according to Usada. The two-time Olympic participant finished eleventh in Tokyo in 2021, and her ban is still running during next year's games in Paris.

According to the Usda, a diuretic agent was discovered in Berry's urine during a training test, which can be used to conceal doping. Berry had a prescription for the corresponding medication for external use, but no exemption for therapeutic use. The case was similar to that of her first ban.

Gwen Berry gained fame through her protests. © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / PATRICK SMITH

The hammer thrower with a personal best of 77,78 meters also caused a stir in 2019 when she held out her fist on the podium during the US national anthem after winning the Pan American Games. According to her own words, she wanted to protest against social injustice in her homeland.