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
Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimm ...
specialist who won a total of four Olympic medals during his career at two different
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...
. He is best known for his powerful underwater start, the eponymous "Berkoff Blastoff".
At the
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
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
The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, 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
The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the s ...
as an "Honor Swimmer" in 2005.
See also
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List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
*
List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
This is the complete list of men's Olympic medalists in swimming.
Men's events 50 metre freestyle
100 metre freestyle
200 metre freestyle
400 metre freestyle
800 metre freestyle
1500 metre freestyle
100 metre backstroke
200 metre ...
*
World record progression 100 metres backstroke
This is a history of the 100 m backstroke world record as swum in both long-course (50 m; Olympic) pools and short-course (25 m) pools—the two categories recognized/tracked by FINA.
Men
Long course
Short course
Women
Long c ...
*
World record progression 4 × 100 metres medley relay
This article includes the world record progression for the 4×100 metres medley relay, and it shows the chronological history of world record times in that competitive swimming event. The 4×100 metres medley relay is a medley race in which each o ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Berkoff, David
1966 births
Living people
American male backstroke swimmers
World record setters in swimming
Harvard Crimson men's swimmers
Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in swimming
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming
Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming
Sportspeople from Missoula, Montana
Swimmers from Philadelphia
Swimmers at the 1987 Pan American Games
Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics
William Penn Charter School alumni
Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States
Pan American Games medalists in swimming
Universiade medalists in swimming
Universiade gold medalists for the United States
Universiade silver medalists for the United States
Medalists at the 1987 Summer Universiade
Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games
20th-century American people
21st-century American people