David Berkoff

David Charles Berkoff ( born November 30, 1966 in Philadelphia ) is a retired American swimmer and two-time Olympic champion.

Berkoff studied anthropology at Harvard University. During his studies he perfected with his coach Joe Bernal underwater start, also known as " Berkoff Blastoff " where he approximately the first 35 to 40 meters in 1.5 meter depth diving lay back. With this technique he was able to improve at the Summer Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988 in the run the world record for the 100 meters at 54.51 seconds. In the final, he finally won the silver medal. He was also a member of the U.S. swimming team over the 100m individual medley and won the gold medal with this. After the Olympics, the sports federation Fédération Internationale de Natation this technique is forbidden except for the first 15 meters of a layer ( butterfly, freestyle and back), the exception is the chest position.

Four years later at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, ​​he again won gold with the U.S. swimming team over the 100m individual medley and a bronze medal in the individual competition over 100m backstroke.

Berkoff in 2005 was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Today Berkoff works as a lawyer and lives and teaches in Missoula, Montana. Together with Matt Biondi, he founded the Delphys Foundation for Marine Study, a foundation which, in particular dolphins and whales studied in their natural environment.