David Berkoff

David Berkoff
Personal information
Full name David Charles Berkoff
Nickname(s) "Dave"
National team United States
Born (1966-11-30) November 30, 1966
Abington, Pennsylvania
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight 154 lb (70 kg)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Backstroke
Club Bernal's Gator Swim Club
College team Harvard University

David Charles "Dave" Berkoff (born November 30, 1966) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events. Berkoff was a backstroke specialist who won a total of four Olympic medals during his career at two different Olympic Games. He is best known for his powerful underwater start, the eponymous "Berkoff Blastoff".

At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, he won a gold medal by swimming the backstroke leg for the winning U.S. men's team in the men's 4×100-meter medley relay in the event final. Individually, he also won a silver medal by placing second in the men's 100-meter backstroke event.

Four years later at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, Berkoff earned another gold medal by swimming for the winning U.S. team in the preliminary heats of the men's 4×100-meter medley relay. He also won a bronze medal by placing third in the 100-meter backstroke.

Berkoff was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" in 2005.[1]

See also

References

  1. ↑ International Swimming Hall of Fame, Honorees, David Berkoff (USA). Retrieved October 29, 2012.


Records
Preceded by
Igor Polyansky		 Men's 100-meter backstroke
world record-holder (long course)
August 12, 1988 – August 25, 1991 		Succeeded by
Jeff Rouse


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