NC State five-time NCAA champion swimmer heading to Paris Olympics with US team
N.C. State swimming and diving will be represented on the 2024 United States Olympic Team in Paris this summer.
Graduate student Katharine Berkoff secured her spot this week, placing second in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 57.91 seconds. Berkoff finished behind Regan Smith, who set a new world record of 57.13 in the event.
She is the 43rd N.C. State athlete to compete in the Olympic games and the 24th swimmer. Berkoff is now the second Olympian in her family, as well. The longtime N.C. State swimmer joins her father, Dave, in representing the United States. He won four medals in the 1988 and 1992 Olympic games, including a pair of golds.
Berkoff enters the Olympics with five NCAA Championships on her resume, 30 All-America honors and six ACC titles. She won the 100-yard backstroke five consecutive times at the ACC Championship and boasts three national titles in the event.
The graduate student holds the program record in seven events, including the 100-yard back. She swam a 48.55 in April to win her third national championship in the event.
Berkoff’s success doesn’t stop at the NCAA level. The Montana native earned three medals at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, last summer. She won gold in the 4x100 meter medley relay; she took home bronze in the mixed 4x100 meter medley relay and the 100-meter backstroke. Berkoff finished behind Australian Kaylee McKeown and Smith.
In 2022, she earned a silver medal in the 50-meter back at the World Championships in Budapest.
Berkoff added six medals at the 2021 FINA short course world championships in Abu Dhabi, including a bronze in the 100 back.
Though the U.S. The Olympic team is not fully assembled, Berkoff joins an elite group that features seasoned veterans Katie Ledecky, Ryan Murphy and Lilly King.
Sophomore Kennedy Noble and Rhyan White advanced to the 200 backstroke final on Friday. They finished in the top eight after two semifinal races on Thursday. White is not part of the N.C. State collegiate team but joined the Wolfpack Elite Swim Club in 2023 after her career at Alabama.
This story was originally published June 20, 2024 at 1:56 PM with the headline "NC State five-time NCAA champion swimmer heading to Paris Olympics with US team."
