By The Associated Press
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — For the past week, they’ve played the national anthem one time a night at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials.
On Saturday, the song happened to start while outspoken activist Gwen Berry was standing on the podium after receiving her bronze medal in the hammer throw.
While the music played, Berry placed her left hand on her hip and shuffled her feet. She took a quarter turn, so she was facing the stands, not the flag. Toward the end, she plucked up her black T-shirt with the words “Activist Athlete” emblazoned on the front, and draped it over her head.
“I feel like it was a set-up, and they did it on purpose,” Berry said of the timing of the anthem. “I was pissed, to be honest.”
Berry’s reaction to the “Star-Spangled Banner” took its fair share of the spotlight on a blazing-hot second-to-last day at trials that also featured some blazing-fast times.
Gabby Thomas became the second-fastest woman ever in the 200, winning the final in 21.61 seconds. The only woman faster: Florence Griffith-Joyner. And, as expected, Grant Holloway won the 110-meter hurdles, though his time in the semifinals was the eye-opener. His 12.81 was only 0.01 off the world record.
Other winners Saturday included Emily Sisson (10,000), Katie Nageotte (pole vault), Maggie Malone (javelin), Rai Benjamin (400 hurdles) and Brittney Reese (long jump).
Not winning: Allyson Felix, who finished fifth in the 200, but already had her spot secured in the 400.
Also, Noah Lyles finished second in his 200 semifinal and looked somewhat shocked to see that 17-year-old Erriyon Knighton had beaten him to the line. Knighton finished in 19.88 to top an under-20 world record that had been held by none other than Usain Bolt.
Earlier, with temperatures reaching 101 degrees (38 Celsius) on the field, Berry earned her spot at the Tokyo Olympics, grabbing the third spot by a scant 2 inches over Janee Kassanavoid.
Later on, while winner DeAnna Price and second-place finisher Brooke Andersen stood still on the podium with their hands over the hearts and stared straight ahead at the American and Oregon flags, Berry fidgeted and paced on the third step. Then turned away. And finally grabbed her T-shirt.
“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.”
Berry’s gestures drew virtually no reaction from the still-filling stands.
That demonstration led to a sanction, but ultimately pushed the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to commit to not punishing athletes who raise fists or kneel at the trials or in Tokyo. It’s a potential flash point for Tokyo, where the IOC has said it will enforce its Rule 50 that bans demonstrations inside the lines. It’s the same prohibition that got sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos sent home from the Mexico City Games in 1968.
Price won with a throw of 263 feet, 6 inches (80.31 meters), which was nearly 7 feet longer than Berry’s throw. Price, who became only the second woman in history to crack 80 meters, had no problem sharing the stage with Berry.
She figures to be going for gold along with world-record holder Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland, who is expected to be in Japan.