Southern Illinois University alums Gwen Berry and DeAnna Price both advanced to Tuesday morning’s hammer throw finals during Saturday’s qualifying round at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Berry sits in seventh while Price is in ninth after three throws.
Berry opened her competition with a legal mark of 68.51m. Price followed with a toss of 71.03m. Berry improved with each of her next two throws, which included her qualifying mark of 73.19m on her final attempt. Price’s best toss of her opening series came on her second attempt when the Moscow Mills, Mo. native threw 72.51m.
Berry, Price and Team USA teammate Brooke Anderson all move on to Tuesday’s final, which gets underway at 6:35 a.m. CT. The trio will make up a fourth of the 12-women field and will vie to become the first United States hammer thrower to medal at the Olympics.
Both Berry and Price will have an opportunity to join George Woods (1968, 1972) and Garrett Hines (2002) as Salukis who have medaled at the Olympic Games. Raven Saunders, who won a pair of NCAA titles in the shot put as a Saluki in 2015, took silver in the shot put Saturday evening.
