[1] Born on December 11, 1962, in Bronxville, New York, to Jill and Dan Linehan, her family moved to Florida when she was seven and in the warmer climate she took to swimming.

She swam through the age of 21, with eleven years in serious competitive age-group training in YMCA swimming programs in Sarasota, Florida.

At a diminutive 5 feet, 4 inches at the time, she became one of the greatest female distance swimmers of the late 1970's, swimming for the Sarasota YMCA Sharks under Tim Blood.

[2] At the 1978 World Aquatics Championships in Berlin, Germany, Linehan won bronze medals with third-place finishes in the 400-meter and 800-meter freestyle events.

[4] Enrolling as a student at the University of Texas in the Fall of 1980, on the Longhorn women's swim team Linehan was coached by Hall of Fame Coaches Paul Bergen and then Richard Quick, and captured 21 All-America honors, leading the Texas women to AIAW National team Championships in 1981 and 1982.