MISSOULA — Katharine Berkoff is officially an Olympic medalist.
The Missoula native and Hellgate High alum finished in third place to secure a bronze medal in the women's 100-meter backstroke Tuesday afternoon at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Berkoff finished the race in 57.98 seconds. Australian Kaylee McKeown, who won the event in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, won the gold medal in an Olympic-record time of 57.33 while American Regan Smith was second at 57.66. Smith holds the world record time of 57.13.
Berkoff led the race briefly on the backstretch before McKeown and Smith passed her. But Berkoff held on down the stretch to reach the Olympic podium for the first time in her career while joining her father, David Berkoff, who was a four-time Olympic medalist in his swimming career.
Berkoff entered the day ranked No. 3 in the field after a big day on Monday. She posted the fastest time in the heats early Monday morning with a finish of 57.99 seconds. Then in the semifinals, Berkoff completed her race in 58.27 seconds, good for second place in her heat.
A 2019 graduate of Hellgate, the Olympics have been a long-time goal for the Montanan. Berkoff's bronze medal adds to a laundry list of accomplishments in her decorated career, highlighted as well by 30 All-America finishes and five NCAA championships that she achieved at North Carolina State.
