NANTERRE, France — Missoula native Katharine Berkoff helped the United States women advance to the 4x100-meter medley relay final of the 2024 Paris Olympics with a second-place finish in their qualifying heat Saturday at Paris La Defense Arena.
Berkoff, who earlier these Olympics won a bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke, put the Americans in first place after her 100 meters Saturday. She swam her leg in 58.98 seconds.
Emma Weber, Alex Shackell and Kate Douglass finished the relay for the U.S., which finished the race with a time of 3:56.40 to place second behind Canada. Canada had a time of 3:56.10 to win the heat.
Berkoff and the American team head into Sunday's final as the fourth-fastest qualifying team. Australia has the fastest qualifying time of 3:54.81.
The 4x100-meter medley relay final is at 11:32 a.m. (MT) Sunday.
Berkoff is a 2019 graduate of Hellgate High School in Missoula. After a standout high school career, she competed in college at North Carolina State, where she finished with 30 All-America finishes and five NCAA championships.
