NANTERRE, France — The United States broke out an entirely new relay squad in the women’s 4×100 medley relay to conclude the swimming portion of the 2024 Olympics Sunday and they did it in world record time to secure the gold medal.
Regan Smith, Lilly King, Gretchen Walsh, and Torri Huske won in 3 minutes, 49.63 seconds to top Australia (3:53.11) and China (3:53.23) on the podium.
The quartet who swam the final was an entirely new group compared to the preliminary, which included Missoula’s Katharine Berkoff. However, those who compete in either round receive medals so Berkoff will add a gold medal to her medal haul from the meet regardless.
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Berkoff, who won a bronze medal in the women’s 100 backstroke already, swam the opening leg in 58.98 seconds in the prelims. That squad relay also included Emma Weber, Alex Shackell, and Kate Douglass.
Berkoff, 23, a 2019 Missoula Hellgate graduate and recent North Carolina State graduate, is a five-time NCAA champion, 30-time All-American, and six-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion. During high school, she won eight individual state titles, eight relay state championships, and four team state crowns.
Berkoff is the daughter of two-time Olympian and former world record holder David Berkoff. He won silver and bronze medals in the 100 back and two gold medals on relay teams at the 1988 and 1992 Olympics and moved to Missoula after his competitive career ended.
Her bronze medal came exactly 32 years after her father won the bronze in the men’s 100 backstroke.
