The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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10 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY NOAH FLEISCHMAN T hirteen athletes with NC State ties competed at the Paris Olympics this summer, and five earned medals, a his- toric showing that included the first tennis medal in program history. Here's a look at how each Wolfpack representative did at the Summer Games. Swimming NC State has long been a powerhouse in the pool, and its success at the colle- giate level has translated to the interna- tional stage. The Pack sent 10 swimmers to Paris for the Summer Games, and the group had an impressive showing. Former NC State star Katharine Berkoff paced NC State's contingent with a pair of medals in her Olympic de- but. Berkoff, a five-time NCAA cham- pion, reached the podium in her lone individual event, winning the bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke fi- nal. The Missoula, Mont., native fin- ished in 57.98 seconds. "So happy that I got to earn another medal for Team USA last night," Berkoff posted on social media following her performance. "I'm feeling so grateful for my community of people. Thank you to everyone supporting me along the way." Berkoff never finished lower than third in any of her three individual swims in the 100 backstroke, and her talents were later used on the 4x100 medley relay preliminary round. Berkoff helped Team USA qualify for the final, where it set a world record with a 3:49.63 mark to claim gold. She be- came the first Wolfpack female athlete to medal at the Olympics since 1984. While Berkoff earned two medals in Paris, she was not the only former Wolfpack athlete to leave with hardware from the pool. Ryan Held, a two-time Olympian, earned a gold medal after helping the U.S. 4x100 freestyle relay team qualify for the final. He was not in the cham- pionship race, but the Americans won gold, which marked the second Olympic gold medal in his career. NC State also fared well in the open- water competition. Freshman David Betlehem earned bronze in the men's 10-kilometer race with a finishing time of 1:51:09 for Hungary. That performance capped a successful Olympic debut for Betlehem, who also finished fourth in the men's 1,500 freestyle in the pool. In addition, incoming freshman Bet- tina Fabian placed fifth in the women's 10K open-water swim with a 2:04:16 mark for Hungary. Former Pack standout Sophie Hans- son placed sixth in the 200-meter breaststroke final and added a 13th- place finish in the 100 breaststroke. Nyls Korstanje, who represented the Netherlands, finished sixth in the 100 butterfly with a 50.83 to round out the Wolfpack's individual finalists. Although he didn't make a final, for- mer Pack relay star Bartosz Piszczorow- icz made his Olympic debut and helped T R A C K I N G THE THE PACK PACK NC State Athletes Enjoy Strong Showing At Olympics Competing in her first Olympics, Katharine Berkoff (right) brought home a bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke, finishing just behind silver medalist Regan Smith (left). PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS