Career
Barkman represented the United States as a 17-year-old at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. She and her relay teammates set a new Olympic record of 4:02.5 in the event final. Barkman finished behind Debbie Meyer and January Henne, completing an American sweep of the event.
Neilson, Kemp, Barkman and Babashoff set a new world record of 3:55.19 in the final, narrowly edging the East German team
Barkman was formerly the coach of the Princeton Tigers women"s swimming and diving team at Princeton University. She now resides in a small town in Pennsylvania and is a kindergarten teacher.