American hammer thrower Gwen Berry has been suspended for doping for 16 months, jeopardizing her participation in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the United States anti-doping agency announced on Wednesday.
Berry, 34 and known for her frequent political positions, tested positive in March for canrenone, a substance classified as a masking product, because of a drug for which she did not have authorization to use for therapeutic purposes, the agency said.
Her 16-month suspension began on April 28, which prevents her from resuming competition before August 28, 2024, thus depriving her of the 2024 Olympics (July 26-August 11).
Berry had been in the media in 2019 when she raised her fist on the podium of the Pan American Games in Lima, where she won gold, to denounce racial injustice in the United States. She had also ostensibly turned her back on the American flag during the medal presentation at the 2021 American trials in Eugene, where she had won her participation in the Tokyo Games.
