South Raleigh News

Katharine Berkoff will represent the United States at the Paris Olympics

Jun 20, 2024

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Katharine Berkoff, one of NC State's most decorated swimmers in program history, can now add Olympian to her long list of honors and accolades.

Berkoff secured her spot in Paris in the 100 backstroke after finishing in second place at the Olympic Trials from Lucas Oil Stadium. Berkoff began the trials with an entry time of 58.01; in preliminaries, she qualified for the semi-finals with a 58.09; in the semi-finals, she swam a 57.83, and then in the finals, her 57.91 placed her second, giving her an invite from the U.S. Olympic Team to compete in Paris.

The Missoula, Montana native joins a long list of Wolfpack Olympians, becoming the 43rd NC State athlete to make the Olympic Games and the 24th in swimming.

Continuing the family legacy, Berkoff will be the second Olympian in the family. She will follow in the footsteps of her father, Dave Berkoff, who competed at the 1988 and 1992 Olympics in four events, winning medals in all four events, including two gold medals in the medley relay.

During her time at NC State, Berkoff became the first woman in ACC history to win five straight titles in the same event after winning the 100-yard backstroke at the 2024 ACC Tournament. She won her third national title in the 100-yard backstroke after swimming a 48.55—the fastest time in program history—at the 2024 NCAA Women's Championship.

Berkoff helped lead NC State to a top-10 finish in her final NCAA Championships meet, earning All-American status in five events. She finished her Wolfpack career as a 30-time All-American, six-time ACC Champion, five-time NCAA Champion, four-time ACC All-Academic team member, CSCAA Scholar All-American, and a 2022 Honda Sports Award Finalist.

Berkoff holds or is part of seven program records for fastest times: 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay, and 800 freestyle relay.

Swimming at the Paris Olympics will be held at La Defense Arena located in Nanterre. Indoor swimming kicks off July 27 and runs through August 4; there will be a total of thirty-five medal events. The Olympic swimming competition concludes with men's and women's open water (10km marathon swimming) races on August 8-9. The entire Team USA roster for Paris will be confirmed by July.

At Tokyo's Olympic Games held last year (2020), ninety-one percent of U.S. swimmers (48 out of fifty-three athletes) competed collegiately; another strong collegiate presence is expected on this year's U.S. Olympic Swimming Team as well. During those games (Tokyo), Team USA swimmers earned thirty medals—more than any other country present—comprising eleven golds along with ten silvers & nine bronze medals.