Linn attended the University of Tennessee from 1995 to 1998, where he was a member of the Tennessee Volunteers swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (National Collegiate Athletic Association) and Southeastern Conference (SEC0 competition.
Linn set an American record in the 100-meter breaststroke while winning the silver medal in that event at the 1996 Summer Olympics. At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, Mark Henderson, Gary Hall Junior., Jeff Rouse and Linn set a new world record in the men"s 400-metre medley relay. Linn was known for his unusual warm-up routine and unorthodox swim sets.
A typical warm-up set consisted of flips off the blocks.
Linn was given the nickname "The Goat" due to his facial hair. He was a seventeen-time All-American.
Linn held the National Collegiate Athletic Association and United States. Open record in the 100 yard breaststroke until 2007, that record was broken by Mike Alexandrov of Northwestern University. Linn was the senior coach at the QDD Swim Team in Manassas, Virginia from September 2004 until August 2007.
Linn coached three swimmers to national championship qualifying times and he also coached three of the four QDD women in the 200-meter freestyle relay to the VSI State Senior Championships for short course in 2007, breaking the meet record and nearly breaking the five-year-old state record.
He now coaches for Nations Capital swim team in northern Virginia.
Linn won eleven Securities and Exchange Commission swimming titles-six individual and five relay. He also helped the Tennessee Volunteers win an Securities and Exchange Commission team championship in 1996. At the national level, he won four individual National Collegiate Athletic Association titles. Linn coached 11 QDD athletes whom achieved United States of America Swimming"s Scholastic All-American status for the 2006-2007 school year, Linn coached for Tar Heel Aquatic Team, in Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina from August 2007 to December 2007.
