46 ■ THE WOLFPACKER
BY MATT HERB
here was a time earlier in
Katharine Berkoff's swim-
ming career when success
was yet another obstacle to
overcome. The closer her
goals seemed, the farther she
would recede into a fog of
worry and doubt.
Berkoff had grown up wanting to be-
come an Olympic gold medalist like her
father, record-setting backstroke spe-
cialist David Berkoff. She had developed
into a sought-after recruit coming out
of Hellgate High in Missoula, Mont., and
while her competitive career was only just
starting to take off, she was on the path to
achieving her highest aims in the sport.
First, though, she needed to find a way of
relieving the intense pressure that would
build up periodically.
That's where NC State came in. If
Berkoff has learned anything during her
decorated five-year career with the Wolf-
pack, it's that there are ways of relieving
the burden created by one's own expec-
tations.
"I've always had the same goals ever
since I started swimming," she said. "I
wanted to make the Olympics and win
gold. Once I started getting closer to that,
it became scary. It was just too much
pressure.
A PERFECT FIT
At NC State, Backstroker Katharine Berkoff Found
Just What She Needed In Order To Reach Her Elite Potential
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