Katharine Berkoff claimed the bronze medal in the 100m backstroke with a time of 57.98 seconds at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday. The feat makes her the first female NC State swimmer to win an Olympic medal.

Berkoff, a 2024 graduate of the Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology master’s program, collected six ACC Championships and five NCAA titles in her five years of swimming at NC State.

She is just one of two female members of the Pack to win Olympic hardware, the first being a gold medal belonging to Joan Benoit in the inaugural marathon event at the 1984 Olympic Games. The red-and-white’s former women’s basketball coach Kay Yow was also bestowed gold in 1988 as coach of the USA women’s basketball team.

The Olympic stage wasn’t Berkoff’s first time making history. She chose to use her extra year of eligibility to return for the 2023-24 season, during which she became the first woman in the ACC to win five consecutive ACC Championships in the same event — the same event in which she claimed the bronze. She also holds the NC State record for the fastest time in seven events.

Additionally, Ryan Held, a 2018 graduate and Pack swimming alum, scored the second gold medal of his Olympic career. Team USA secured the win in the 4×100 freestyle relay with the help of Held, who participated in the preliminary round. While at NC State, Held was a 23-time ACC Champion and four-time NCAA Champion.

Berkoff’s journey to the Olympics began long before Paris. She came in fourth at the 2021 Olympic trials, just missing the cut for Tokyo. Three years later, Berkoff’s bronze is one of 26 medals for Team USA in the 2024 Games as of Tuesday.