Radke was born December 17, 1970. She was raised in
Morris, Minnesota. She broke all of the Minnesota Age Group State Records, except breaststroke. In 1982 and 1983, her family lived in
Adelaide, Australia, where she swam for the Burnside Southside Swim Club, breaking several State Age Group Records. At the age of 13, she and her family moved to
Emmaus, Pennsylvania. By the time she was 14, she landed a spot on the
U.S. National Swim Team, where she was its youngest member. Radke won gold medals at the
Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in 1985 and 1987 as part of the 800-meter (4 × 200 m) Freestyle Relay Team. In 1988, as a member of the
U.S. Olympic Swim Team, she finished fifth in the final of the
women's 200-meter butterfly event at the
Seoul Olympics, recording a time of 2:11.55. During this time, she was also a member of the swim team at her high school,
Germantown Academy in
Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, where she swam for Hall of Fame Coach
Dick Shoulberg. At Germantown Academy, she was a member of a swimming team that won the team national title, and Radke broke two national prep school records. In 1990, Radke won two more international gold medals and broke national records in Italy. She was captain of the
USA Swimming in 1991. ==College years==