Katharine Berkoff secured her spot in the women’s 100-meter backstroke final at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium by winning both her heat and semifinal races.
In the morning, Berkoff won her heat in 58.09 seconds, and in the evening session, she won the first semifinal in 57.83 seconds. Regan Smith set a new American record in the second semifinal with a time of 57.47. All finalists finished in under a minute.
Berkoff, racing from lane four in both races, had the second-best overall time going into the final. She improved her time in the semifinal by splitting the first half in 28 seconds and breaking 58 seconds for the first time.
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During the morning race, Berkoff led by .05 seconds at the turn and pulled away from the field on the way back. Smith had the fastest time in the heats and led the semifinalists.
In the semifinals, the field was narrowed down to eight swimmers. The final is set for the evening session on Tuesday at 6 p.m. MT. Berkoff will be aiming to finish in the top two to qualify for the Paris games after narrowly missing out in 2021.
Berkoff’s 100 backstroke event is the first of three scheduled for her this week, alongside the 100 and 50 freestyles.
In 2021, Berkoff finished fourth in the 100 back at the previous Olympic Trials. Since then, she has become a three-time NCAA champion, earned 30 All-America honors, and won 10 world championship medals.
Berkoff was one of two Montanans competing in the trials. Liam Kerns from Billings also participated in the men’s 100 breaststroke event on Saturday.
