Like Father, Like Daughter: Katharine Berkoff Establishing Own Impressive Legacy
(From the March issue of Swimming World Magazine)
Two characteristics of Katharine Berkoff distinguish her from the majority of elite swimmers.
First, she is the daughter of David Berkoff, a four-time Olympic medalist (two gold, one silver, one bronze) and four-time world record holder in the late 1980s/early 1990s. The elder Berkoff was the first man ever to break 55 seconds in the 100 meter backstroke, and he was a pioneer in swimming as he perfected the “Berkoff Blastoff,” kicking underwater for more than half the length off the start in his backstroke races.
As Katharine has become an impact performer in her own right, she has never felt pressure to live up to her father’s impressive example. Instead, his success inspired Katharine on her own path, one that brought her within tenths of an Olympic spot as she finished fourth in the 100 backstroke as a 20-year-old at the 2021 Olympic Trials.
“The only pressure I ever felt was from myself because I just wanted to do it for myself, and my dad was definitely a huge inspiration. I don’t think I would have had those Olympic dreams without him. He played a big role in my goal-setting, but it was never a negative thing,” she said. “Ever since I was old enough to care about swimming, I decided I wanted to make the Olympic team. And my dad was always very supportive of that and told me he knew I could do it.”
Daichi Suzuki at the 1988 Seoul Olympics after winning gold in the 100-meter backstroke Photo Courtesy: Daichi Suzuki
David actually coached Katharine at one point while she was growing up, although Katharine admitted that “it just made me really annoyed when he told me to do things.” But later on, Katharine would rely on her father for race tips and analysis “because he knows me as a swimmer really well.” She admitted that perhaps she was destined to become a backstroker since that was David’s specialty as well as her mother’s and her brother’s best stroke during their swimming careers.
So Berkoff’s bloodlines make her a rarity in U.S. swimming, where second-generation Olympians are rare but not unheard of. But her second characteristic is even more uncommon: She is an elite swimmer from Montana, a state with virtually no record of having produced elite swimming talent.
Berkoff grew up in Missoula before heading to the opposite corner of the country for college at North Carolina State University. And she admits that she actually prefers the weather in often-frigid Montana to the weather in the humid southeast.
“Most people would disagree with me, but I really like when it’s super cold, like negative-10,” Berkoff said.
N.C. State: The Right Choice
Warm weather aside, the experience at N.C. State has been nearly perfect. Berkoff’s first NCAA Championships were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but during her sophomore season last year, she captured an individual national title in the 100 yard backstroke. She won the race by almost a half-second while swimming a time of 49.74 to become the fourth-fastest performer in history.
Photo Courtesy: NCAA Media
At the same meet, she led off a pair of Wolfpack medley relays that captured national titles, both with upset performances over ACC rival Virginia. Berkoff teamed with Sophie Hansson, Kylie Alons and Julia Poole to win the 400 medley relay on the second night of the meet, and a day later, after Berkoff had won her national title and Hansson had won the 100 breast, the team of Berkoff, Hansson, Sirena Rowe and Alons won the 200 medley relay.
“It was such a monumental moment,” Berkoff said. “We got back to the hotel after winning the (400 medley) relay, and (head coach) Braden (Holloway) started crying. He was so proud of us, and everyone was crying, and we were all so excited. And after that, we just felt unstoppable.”
Those wins were the first-ever national titles in swimming for the N.C. State women’s team—and the Wolfpack ended the meet with five wins, as Hansson added a second individual crown in the 200 breast on the final day. N.C. State’s program had taken off since Holloway took over the program prior to the 2011-12 season, capturing two ACC team titles during that span. But at this national championship meet, the Wolfpack women achieved the highest team finish in their program’s history by five spots.
Having never before finished higher than seventh, N.C. State ended up taking second place behind Virginia, defeating Texas by just 9.5 points for runner-up honors.
“Even though we got second, it felt like we won because that’s the best our team had ever done, and it’s just cool to have two ACC teams on top,” Berkoff said.
Olympic Trials Disappointment
Heading into the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2021, Berkoff was the reigning World University Games champion in the 100 meter backstroke, but she would be racing against the most competitive field at the entire meet. It included two previous world record holders (Regan Smith and Kathleen Baker), another swimmer who had won bronze in the event at the previous World Championships (Olivia Smoliga) and two others who had previously broken 59 (Rhyan White and Phoebe Bacon).
Berkoff quickly gave notice that she would be in the mix when she clocked 58.88 in prelims, and then she finished third in the semifinals with a 58.60. In the final, Berkoff turned in second place at the halfway point, but she could not hold off White on the second length of the pool. She ended up fourth.
Even though few considered Berkoff one of the favorites to make the Olympic team in the event, she was devastated. She had believed in herself and planned for that outcome, so simply swimming well at the biggest meet of her life was little consolation.
“I just decided I was gonna make it. And so that was my plan,” Berkoff said. “I was really nervous going into it, and I think a little too nervous, and my finals race, I took it out a little too fast, and my last 15 meters were pretty vertical.” She added, “It’s just not the outcome I wanted or planned for.”
Challenging the World’s Best
After that, Berkoff admitted, she had a hard time getting back into training, and she realized that she “needed to not think about swimming so much, so I decided I just needed to get over this because it’s not helping me to be sad about it.”
Shortly after Berkoff began her junior season of college swimming, she got an invitation to make her debut at a world-level senior meet, the Short Course World Championships in Abu Dhabi in late December, and Berkoff took full advantage of that experience. She earned a bronze medal in the 100 back, finishing just 2-tenths away from gold, and she won five medals on American relays, including a pair of golds as the third leg of the U.S. women’s 200 and 400 freestyle relays.
“It was really exciting, and that was my first time ever being on freestyle relays for Team USA, which was a pretty huge step forward for my freestyle. It was my biggest international meet ever. And I think the lessons I learned at Trials really helped me in my 100 back final because I just tried not to let the nerves get to me, and not take it out too fast and just know that any outcome is fine,” Berkoff said.
“I’ve always seen myself doing it, so it was awesome to finally be in that position where I’m racing other countries’ best 100 backstrokers. And I think it was a really good learning experience, just learning how to race people who are really, really fast.”
Future Ambitions
Berkoff will take those lessons into her junior-year championship season for N.C. State, where the Wolfpack will again be favored for a repeat Top-5 finish on the national level, and she will be aiming to defend her individual 100 back title against a loaded field. She also will combine with Hansson and Alons to form medley relays that will again be dangerous.
Beyond the college realm, Berkoff still has ambitions of coming through the always-grueling gauntlet of 100 backstroke qualifying races in the United States and eventually making an Olympic team—inspired by her father, but not because of him. Maybe Katharine inherited some of David’s brilliant backstroking genetics, but she has created her own legacy of swimming greatness.
Great article – much appreciated by the swimming community in Missoula. Note that Montana has produced “elite swimming talent.” For example – David Cromwell – US national team member – was ranked top 10 in the world in both the 100 and 200 backstroke.
Katharine is just such a doll! I had the pleasure of getting her autograph and chatting with her post-NCAA win(s). She is strong, talented, fun for the whole family, and a real “straight shooter”. GO KATHARINE!!!
Kathy Berkoff!!! A household name! Rumor has it next year she will be swimming breaststroke for the pack
Katharine is a fan favorite! She has the biggest heart and also the the biggest biceps ever!!! Will be rooting for her in the years to come.