US hammer thrower gets 16-month doping ban
Hammer thrower, Gwendolyn Berry, has been banned for 16 months by the United States Anti-Doping Agency for testing positive for a banned substance.
The suspension means the 34-year-old American will miss this month’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
Berry’s violation resulted from her use of a topical medication – a cream used to treat pain in a specific part of the body – that contained spironolactone.
She has a prescription for the drug but failed to get an exemption to use it.
It is the second doping ban within a 10-year period for Berry, who was a member of the United States’ 2016 and 2020 Olympic teams.
She was also suspended in 2016 for three months after using an inhaler containing the banned substance, vilanterol trifenatate.
Her ban means she will also miss the 2024 Paris Olympics, which begin next July.
