Hammer Thrower Gwen Berry Turns Away From Flag as Anthem Plays at U.S. Olympic Trials: ‘I Feel Like It Was a Setup’

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Olympic hammer thrower Gwen Berry claims that she was “set up” after turning away from the flag at the conclusion of the U.S. track and field qualification trials.

Berry, who was reprimanded for protesting at the Pan-American Games in 2019, was in Eugene, Oregon this weekend for the trial competition, where she placed in third behind Brooke Andersen and DeAnna Price. Price made headlines for setting a record-breaking throw of 263 feet, 6 inches, according to ESPN.

On Saturday, the anthem began to play as Price, Andersen and Berry were on the podium. As the music played, Berry broke off from her competitors by turning away from the American flag, facing the stands, and draping a T-shirt with the words “Activist Athlete” over her head.

The Guardian reports that unlike the Olympics themselves, the trial competition is organized so that the anthem “does not accompany medals ceremonies…But the hammer throwers received their awards just before the start of the evening session, which has been kicking off all week with a video rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner played on the scoreboard.” USA Track and Field spokeswoman Susan Hazzard has spoken to the media, saying they weren’t waiting to play the anthem during the podium ceremony, but rather, they had it scheduled to play at 5.20 p.m. local time.

Speaking to reporters, Berry claimed there was no coincidence in when the anthem was played, saying “I feel like it was a setup. I feel like they did that on purpose… I was pissed, to be honest.”

“They said they were going to play it before we walked out, then they played it when we were out there,” Berry said. “But I don’t really want to talk about the anthem because that’s not important. The anthem doesn’t speak for me. It never has.”