SWIMMER

David Berkoff

1966 - Today

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David "Dave" Charles Berkoff (born November 30, 1966) is an American former competition Hall of Fame swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events. Berkoff was a backstroke specialist who won a total of four medals during his career at the Olympic Games in 1988 and 1992. He is best known for breaking the world record for the 100-meter backstroke three times, beginning at the 1988 Olympic trial preliminaries, becoming the first swimmer to go under 55 seconds for the event. He is also remembered for his powerful underwater backstroke start, the eponymous "Berkoff Blastoff" which after a strong push-off from the side of the pool used a horizontal body position with locked arms outstretched overhead and an undulating or wavelike aerodynamic dolphin kick to provide thrust and build speed. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in 18 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 16 in 2024). David Berkoff is the 362nd most popular swimmer (down from 344th in 2024), the 17,443rd most popular biography from United States (down from 17,184th in 2019) and the 126th most popular American Swimmer.

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Among SWIMMERS

Among swimmers, David Berkoff ranks 362 out of 709. Before him are Carrie Steinseifer, Daniel Kowalski, József Szabó, Natalia Ishchenko, Petria Thomas, and David Wilkie. After him are Mireia Belmonte, Katrin Meissner, Andrea Fuentes, Domenico Fioravanti, Michelle Ford, and David Popovici.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1966, David Berkoff ranks 1,009. Before him are Lori Alan, Vladimir Quesada, Tone Wilhelmsen Trøen, Vasilis Dimitriadis, Elena Bechke, and Jason Brooks. After him are Kevin Robinzine, Denise Mina, Brett Hollister, Khalil Haqqani, Kristin Hersh, and Stefan Molyneux.

Others Born in 1966

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In United States

Among people born in United States, David Berkoff ranks 17,450 out of 20,380. Before him are Ambyr Childers (1988), Cindy Brown (1965), Jessy Schram (1986), Brian Blade (1970), Lester Speight (1963), and Jason Brooks (1966). After him are Patrick Cassidy (1962), Whitney Wolfe Herd (1989), Valerie Cruz (1976), Trace Adkins (1962), Aron Eisenberg (1969), and Brian Leetch (1968).

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Among SWIMMERS In United States

Among swimmers born in United States, David Berkoff ranks 126. Before him are Rebecca Soni (1987), Anthony Ervin (1981), Mary T. Meagher (1964), Jason Lezak (1975), Aaron Peirsol (1983), and Carrie Steinseifer (1968). After him are Maya DiRado (1993), Rowdy Gaines (1959), Brendan Hansen (1981), Crissy Ahmann-Leighton (1970), Chris Jacobs (1964), and Steve Lundquist (1961).

American born Swimmers

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