| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | David Charles Berkoff | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | "Dave" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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.svg.png "Silver medal – second place"){kind=icon}
.svg.png "Bronze medal – third place"){kind=icon}
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
- List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
- List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
- World record progression 100 metres backstroke
- World record progression 4 × 100 metres medley relay
References
- ^ International Swimming Hall of Fame, Honorees, David Berkoff (USA). Retrieved October 29, 2012.
External links
- Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Dave Berkoff". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2012-11-13.
- David Berkoff (USA) – Honor Swimmer profile at International Swimming Hall of Fame
| Records | ||
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| Preceded by Igor Polyansky | Men's 100-meter backstroke world record-holder (long course) August 12, 1988 – August 25, 1991 | Succeeded by Jeff Rouse |