Bergsma is a native of
North Carolina. She represented the United States at the
2010 Winter Olympics in
Vancouver, where she finished 6th in 500 metres, 9th in the 1000 metres, and 16th in the 1500 metres. At the
2011 World Single Distance Championships in
Inzell, Germany, she won a bronze medal in the 1000 metres. She also placed 8th in the 500 metres, and was part of the team pursuit team that finished in 8th place. On January 26–27, 2013, Bergsma won the gold medal at the
2013 World Sprint Championships in
Salt Lake City, United States. She has since won several world championship medals, and earned numerous podium placings in the
World Cup. At the
2018 Winter Olympics, she won the bronze medal in the
team pursuit. Bergsma held the American record on the 500 metres distance from 2011 to 2021. She is the current world record holder in the 2 x 500 meters, and held the
1500 metres world record from 2015 to 2019, and also briefly held the
1000 metres world record in November 2015, and the sprint combination world record from 2013 to 2017. She announced her retirement from skating in February 2020. ==Personal life==