Katharine Berkoff on American Records, Sara Curtis’ 26.56 & The Road to LA 2028

GMM presented by @SwimOutletTV
In this GMM takeover of the SwimSwam podcast we have 3-time Pan Pacific Championships gold medalist, Katharine Berkoff.

Berkoff is coming off a huge summer, sweeping her individual events at the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships with gold in the 50 back and 100 back, then adding another gold as part of Team USA’s 4x100 medley relay.

Her 50 back was the headline swim. Berkoff ripped a 26.90, lowering her own American Record. In the 100 back, she touched first in 57.93, beating a stacked field that included Regan Smith, who averaged 57.8 across multiple races in 2026.

We unpack those swims and the rapidly changing landscape of women’s backstroke.

At the European Championships, Italy’s Sara Curtis stunned swimming fans with a 26.56 world record in the 50 back. Berkoff talks about seeing that time and Sara’s buried-head 50-style (something Berkoff. might test, though she doesn't think the style will work for her).

The 100 back might be even more competitive. Berkoff owns a lifetime best of 57.83, while the American field alone includes Smith and Isabelle Stadden, both of whom have been deep into 57-second territory. Smith was 57.49 and Stadden was 57.55 at the Fort Lauderdale Open back in May.

We also go back to Berkoff’s first U.S. Olympic Trials final. At the 2020 Trials in Omaha, Berkoff finished fourth in the 100 back in 58.82, only two-tenths away from making the Olympic team. Three years later, she broke through in Indianapolis, qualifying for Paris and ultimately earning Olympic bronze in the 100 back.

Berkoff takes us inside that progression, from narrowly missing Tokyo to becoming an Olympic medalist, world champion and American-record holder.

We also dig into her development at NC State, how she’s working diligently on her mental game, and how she’s training to race knowing that the time at the LA Olympics won’t matter. In LA, it will be all about who gets gold, silver and bronze in that pressure-cooker event.

For Berkoff, the personal journey is all about the progression. And that 100 back win at the Pan Pacific Championships might be more consequential for her confidence than re-breaking her 50 back American Record.

Berkoff is managing swimming pro life well. She’s got A3 Performance and Spectrum Aquatics support as partners, along with USA Swimming APA (Athlete Partnership Agreement). Berkoff’s in a good place with support through her LA 2028 run-up.

Many thanks to @SwimOutletGear for their 15-year partnership and support of this swimming news and media.

Swimming news courtesy of SwimSwam.com (swimswam.com)

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Opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the interviewed guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the hosts, SwimSwam Partners, LLC and/or SwimSwam advertising partners.

This is a Gold Medal Media production presented by SwimOutlet.com. Host Gold Medal Mel Stewart is a 3-time Olympic medalist and the co-founder of SwimSwam.com, a Swimming News website.