David Berkoff

American backstroke swimmer who pioneered the 'Berkoff Blastoff' underwater start, breaking the 100m backstroke world record three times and prompting a rule change limiting underwater distance off the wall.

Born in Abington, Pennsylvania, on 30 November 1966, David Charles Berkoff began swimming for Dick Shoulberg's Germantown Academy Aquatics Club at age eight before starring at Harvard University, where in 1987 he became the school's first NCAA swimming champion since 1960. It was at Harvard that he refined a technique of staying submerged for 35 to 40 metres off the wall using a powerful dolphin kick, later dubbed the 'Berkoff Blastoff'. Berkoff used the technique to devastating effect in 1988, breaking the 100m backstroke world record twice at the U.S. Olympic Trials — becoming the first man under 55 seconds — and a third time in the Seoul Olympics heats. In the final, Japan's Daichi Suzuki, using a similar underwater style, passed him at the final turn to win gold; Berkoff held off the Soviet Union's Igor Polyansky by two-hundredths of a second for silver. He also helped the U.S. set a world record in the 4x100m medley relay. The underwater technique caused such a stir that FINA changed the rules immediately after the Seoul Games, limiting the underwater portion of a backstroke start and turn to 10 metres — a change that shaped backstroke technique for every swimmer since, and whose underwater dolphin-kick principle was later adopted across all four strokes. Berkoff returned for a second Olympics at Barcelona 1992, winning bronze in the 100m backstroke behind a 2-3 American finish, and helped the U.S. defend its medley relay title for a third straight Games. He is the father of Paris 2024 Olympic medalist Katharine Berkoff.

Backstroke specialist known for an extended underwater dolphin-kick start

Changed backstroke technique forever, with the underwater dolphin kick later adopted across all strokes