What is Gwen Berry’s net worth? Three-time national champion holds several world records
Gwen Berry, the Olympic hammer thrower who turned her back to the US flag, ranks in the global top ten and holds several world records. Berry's mark of 77.78 meters (255 ft 2 in) on June 8, 2018, ranks her at number 6 on the all-time list.
MEAWW previously reported how there were growing calls from conservatives for the athlete to be cut from the US Olympic team, and how she was accused of looking for a "Colin Kaepernick payday" by turning away from the flag as the national anthem played. Now, many are wondering what her net worth is, especially since her athletic career has earned the track and field star millions of dollars.
RELATED ARTICLES
Gwen Berry was put on probation after raising her fist at '19 Pan-Am Games, she demanded an apology
Tokyo Olympics: Full list of sports making their debut or comeback at the games
Origins
Having specialized in hammer throwing, Gwendolyn "Gwen" Berry was ranked number 6 on the all-time hammer throwing list as of June 2018. Meanwhile, she reportedly also holds the world record in the weight throw, with a mark of 25.60 meters.
The American track and field athlete is also a three-time national champion in the weight throw at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships and was the gold medalist in the hammer throw at the 2014 Pan American Sports Festival.
What is Gwen Berry's net worth?
According to Player's Bio, Berry is believed to be worth anywhere between $1 million and $5 million. She was born and raised in St Louis, Missouri, and had an athletic childhood, playing sports such as baseball, soccer, volleyball with her three siblings.
In 2007, the athlete received a scholarship from the University of Southern Illinois after she set three high jump records at her high school. At the tender age of 15, she became pregnant with her son Derrick. However, his birth did not hinder her athletic trajectory.
Turning away from flag
Berry turned away from the flag during her Olympic trials at Eugene, Oregon, on June 26 as the hammer thrower took the podium after coming third place. The Black Lives Matter activist later claimed the playing of the national anthem appeared to be a "setup" because athletes were allegedly told it would be played before they reached the podium.
The disgruntled athlete first placed her hand on her hip and fidgeted with her feet, before she took a quarter turn to the right and tilted her head to the side, facing the stands. Meanwhile, two fellow contestants placed their hands on their hearts. Towards the end of the song, she pulled up her black tee-shirt that said the words 'Activist Athlete' and draped it atop her head.
"I feel like it was a setup, and they did it on purpose,'' Berry said of the timing of the anthem. "I was p***ed, to be honest. They said they were going to play it before we walked out, then they played it when we were out there. 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.”
This wasn't the first time Berry protested the national anthem on the podium. The athlete had drawn immense criticism back in the 2019 Pan American Games, where she won a gold medal and put up a fist in the air at the end of the national anthem.
Berry had been called anti-American and disrespectful towards the troops due to her gesture, and she was subsequently suspended for 12 months by the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee. At the time, Berry's father, an Iraq war vet, defended her. "For her to do that on the podium is more American than anything, if you ask me," he said, "because that's what our country is founded on: freedom of expression, freedom of speech."
