Missoula native Katharine Berkoff is knocking on the door of an Olympic medal.
With family in attendance wearing shirts with the Montana state outline around an American flag, the Hellgate grad finished in second place in the second heat of the women's 100-meter backstroke semifinals on Monday afternoon at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Berkoff finished her semifinal race in 58.27 seconds and will head into Tuesday's final ranked No. 3 behind fellow American Regan Smith and Australian Kaylee McKeown.
Berkoff entered the semifinal round with the fastest qualifying time from Monday's heat races to begin the day. Berkoff won her heat in 57.99 seconds to set herself up for the semifinals. Smith, who holds the world record in the 100 backstroke at 57.13, had the fastest time in the semifinals at 57.97 and won the first heat, while McKeown finished in 57.99 and won the second heat. McKeown won the event at the 2020 Games and holds the Olympic record at 57.47.
Tuesday's final in the women's 100-meter backstroke will take place on Tuesday at 12:56 p.m. Mountain Time.
