1999 Male Amateur Athlete of the Year

Jeremy Linn

In his four years at the University of Tennessee, Jeremy Linn fulfilled every dream an athlete could have. The Harrisburg, Penn. native established records, won both team and individual championships and carried the name of Tennessee swimming into international competition. Linn was crowned SEC Champion six times as an individual in addition to leading five relay squads in championship efforts. A three-time SEC Swimmer of the Year, he became only the third swimmer to win the same event, the 100-yard breaststroke, for four consecutive years at the SEC Championships.

Linn now holds SEC Meet records in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke events as well as the 200 and 400-yard medley relays. The crowning accomplishment of Linn's SEC dominance, however, is helping the Volunteers claim the 1996 SEC team title. On the national collegiate stage, Linn was no less spectacular.

The lanky Pennsylvanian won individual national championships a total of four times. Linn became the first Vol to claim two individual titles at a single NCAA meet since Andy Coan in 1979. All told, Linn won 17 All-America honors in his four years at UT. Outside the scope of collegiate competition, Linn has proven himself to be one of the top breaststroke swimmers in the world. At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Linn won the silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke, establishing an American record. Linn also played a vital role on America's gold medal winning 400-meter medley relay that bested an eight-year-old world record by two seconds. Linn followed his 1996 Olympic effort with a gold medal performance in the 100-meter breaststroke at the 1997 U.S. Open Championships.

Currently, Linn owns American records in the 100-yard breaststroke (51.86), 100-meter breaststroke (1:00.77), 200-yard medley relay (1:25.76) and the 400-meter medley relay (3:34.88).