LIMA: Two US gold medal winners could face sanctions after staging dramatic podium protests against US President Donald Trump at the Pan American Games in Lima. Gwen Berry stunned the crowd when she raised a clenched right fist and bowed her head as the US national anthem closed her gold medal ceremony for the women’s hammer.
The 30-year-old’s protest on Saturday — which she told US media was aimed at “extreme injustice” — echoed the iconic raised fist protest of US sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico.
On Friday, two-time Olympian fencer Race Imboden, 26, set the tone after ‘taking a knee’ as his team celebrated gold in the team foil event. He was the latest US sports star to follow NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, whose kneeling protest during the US national anthem before NFL games in 2016 became a national issue.
“We must call for change. This week I am honoured to represent Team USA at the Pan Am Games, taking home Gold and Bronze,” tweeted Imboden. – AFP
