Kim Linehan

Kim Linehan
Personal information
Full nameKimberly Ann Linehan
Nickname"Kim"
National teamUnited States
Born (1962-12-11) December 11, 1962
Bronxville, New York
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight126 lb (57 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubTexas Longhorn Aquatic Club (TLAC)
College teamUniversity of Texas
CoachPaul Bergen (UT, TLAC)
Medal record
Women's swimming
Representing the United States
World Championships (LC)
1982 Guayaquil800 m freestyle
1978 Berlin400 m freestyle
1978 Berlin800 m freestyle
Pan American Games
1979 San Juan800 m freestyle
1979 San Juan200 m freestyle
Universiade
1981 Bucharest400 m freestyle
1981 Bucharest800 m freestyle

Kimberly Ann Linehan (born December 11, 1962) is an American former competition swimmer for the University of Texas, a 1982 World Aquatics champion, a 1984 Olympic competitor in the 400-meter freestyle, and a former world record-holder in the 400 and 1500-meter freestyle events. For a period in the late 1970's she was considered by many to be the top distance freestyler in the world.

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. She also swam for Riverview High School, taking many honors and titles.

At age 15 in 1977, she moved to Austin, and began receiving training from the Texas Longhorn Aquatic Club under Hall of Fame Coach Coach Paul Bergen, where her swimming accomplishments continued to build.

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. Linehan won a gold medal by placing first in the 800-meter freestyle at the 1982 World Aquatics Championships in Guayaquil, Ecuador.