BERRY Gwen

General
FAMILY INSPIRATION
She grew up in St Louis, MO, and gave birth to her son Derrick a few weeks after her 15th birthday. A few weeks after Derrick was born, Gwen's father Michael, who was 17 when Gwen was born, joined the US Army and was deployed to Iraq. She credits him with instilling her with the values and beliefs that motivated her to raise her fist in protest on the podium at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. "My dad fought for this country. He was away from four kids. My dad taught me a lot about this world and this life, especially about history and African history. He was always a rebel, always spoke up for himself, did what was right for himself and his family, and I feel like that's where I get some of my drive from." After finishing high school, she left her son with family in St Louis to attend Southern Illinois University, and after graduating in 2015 she moved to Oxford, MI, and then to Houston, TX, in 2018. Her son lives with his father in St Louis and she hopes to spend more time with him after the Olympic Games, which she was not certain to compete at following the postponement of the Games. "I have been away from [Derrick] for a long time. I've always had to train outside of St. Louis and I only get to go home a few times a year to visit him. He is going to college soon, and I want to be a part of that. More a part of it than I am now. I think the decision for 2021 will come down to my family. I feel like even though I do love the sport, I am getting older. My body changes everyday. Every practice, something else hurts. At this time I feel like it [competing at the Olympic Games in 2021] is just up in the air. I'll let my body decide what I should do, my family, and I'll keep trying my best to train and do what I can right now. It will come down to my body and the way it responds to training, and the time being away from my family." (edition.cnn.com, 04 Apr 2020; espn.com, 26 Sep 2019)

PODIUM PROTEST
In August 2019 she was placed on a 12-month probation by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee [USOPC] after she raised a fist while standing on top of the medal podium of the hammer event at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. "Somebody has to stand for all of the injustices that are going on in America. I did it as a testament to myself and for people who suffer. It's crazy how people suffer sometimes." In 2020 the CEO of USOPC, Sarah Hirshland, apologised to her for the reprimand, and in August 2020 she was added to a Team USA protests and demonstrations steering committee. She said she does not know if she will raise her fist again. "I feel like if I put my fist in the air every time I win a medal, it would get boring. So instead of just doing that, I need to do more. I definitely had a lot of speaking engagements come up from what I've done." (olympics.nbcsports.com, 28 Aug 2020; bbc.co.uk, 22 Aug 2019; espn.co.uk, 28 Sep 2019; olympics.nbcsports.com, 04 Jun 2020)

FINANCIAL STRAIN
She lost some of her sponsorship endorsements in 2019 following her podium protest at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, and said that her financial situation further suffered following the postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "For me [the postponement] was extremely devastating because they cut off all my revenue. Competing, going overseas, going to competitions, getting prize money, and then ultimately making the Olympic team help me, help my family, help my community. For a lot of Paralympians and Olympians, when you have this opportunity and it's taken from you, everything gets cut. The mental health situation for most athletes is really dire. When people think of Olympians, they think of people who have a lot of money, like professional basketball players, or professional baseball players, and it's definitely not the case. [People] think we have this celebrity status but it's not true. Only 1%, and maybe not even that, generate a decent income. The r