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Regan Smith and Katharine Berkoff place 2-3 in the women’s 100-meter backstroke | Olympic Games Paris 2024

At the Paris Games, Regan Smith and Katharine Berkoff place 2-3 in the women’s 100-meter backstroke.

Regan Smith and Katharine Berkoff pose with their medals after the women’s 100-meter backstroke final at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on July 30, 2024 in Nanterre, France.

France’s Nanterre Two American women were competing in individual swimming at La Defense Arena, and this was their third consecutive night on the podium. Regan Smith won silver and Katharine Berkoff won bronze in the stacked 100-meter backstroke final, making it the 3,000th medal won by the United States in Olympic history.

Smith, the current world record holder in the event, competed in the race with two previous world record holders, Australia’s Kaylee McKeown and Canada’s Kylie Masse, who both won gold in the event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

At the start of the race, the field’s depth allowed Smith, Masse, Berkoff, and McKeown to all flip in under six hundredths of a second at the fifty. The Australian touched in at 57.33 over Smith’s 57.66, using the second half to reach the wall ahead of Smith. The two competitors, who have competed against one another in several international events and exchanged world records in the competition since 2019, were no strangers to each other in the fight for gold.

Smith’s silver medal is an improvement over her bronze from Tokyo, where she finished behind McKeown and Masse. At the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming in June, the 22-year-old broke the world record, paving the way for a historic swim at the Games. Smith has maintained her focus on improving with every race despite the great expectations that followed her to the Olympic Games in Paris. Thus far, she has adhered to that strategy, achieving quicker speeds in the 100-meter backstroke at the initial semifinal, and final stages.

“Good. Better. Best is what I’ve been saying the entire time I’ve been here,” Smith remarked. And I carried out just that. I’m rather pleased with myself. I’m glad I was able to withdraw from the semifinals since I’ve had a lot of trouble doing so in the past. I followed my race strategy, remained in my own lane, and left it everything in the water.

Smith was not the only American on the podium, unlike in Tokyo. With a time of 57.98, Berkoff—who had the quickest time in the preliminary round—was able to finish below 58.0 and give Team USA the bronze medal. The last time the United States had two competitors competing in the women’s 100-meter backstroke was in 2008 when Margaret Hoelzer won bronze and Natalie Coughlin won gold.

On July 29, 2024, in Nanterre, France, Katharine Berkoff participates in the women’s 100-meter backstroke semifinals in the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

Smith spoke of sharing the platform with Berkoff, “It was really special.” “Katherine has left behind an amazing legacy for her father, and for that I am really proud. I adore her a great deal.

In the 100-meter backstroke, Berkoff is not the first member of her family to win an Olympic medal. Her father, David Berkoff, won bronze in the same event for the United States in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Katharine’s bronze coincidentally comes precisely thirty-two years after her father’s victory.

Berkoff remarked, “He was my first inspiration.” Without him, I couldn’t be where I am now. As soon as I realized what he had done, I made up my mind to follow suit. Simply said, it has been incredibly unique to walk in his shoes.

Over the last five years, Berkoff has been a standout at the university level at North Carolina State University. She is now the second-fastest American in history in the 100-meter backstroke, just behind Smith. Even though Berkoff finished on the podium in her Olympic debut, she said following the event that although she was thrilled to fulfill a longtime dream, she still had more to offer.

“The objective is to win,” declared Berkoff following her competition. “The field at the 100 back is rather close. That was the ultimate objective, but I understood it would be difficult and that I had a chance. However, I am very delighted to be here and quite appreciative of winning another gold for Team USA. It has immense meaning. It’s only a part of life’s fantasy. I am quite appreciative of this.

Although Berkoff has finished her single event, she will probably be utilized in the meet’s subsequent 4×100-meter medley relays. On Wednesday, Smith—who now holds the American record in the 200-meter butterfly—will return to the pool.

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