Leeper Inducted Into Kansas Sports Hall of Fame

Nathan Leeper, a 1996 graduate of Protection High School, is one of the 2026 inductees into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.

Leeper was formally inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame Saturday at the Kansas Star Casino.

In a phone interview with the Western Star, the current Pratt resident said he would see news about it and “I wouldn’t be telling you the truth if I didn’t hope that someday my name would be mentioned. And when it did, I told my wife and it was a little surreal.”

Leeper said that, as time passes and you get involved with your family and kids, you sometimes forget about what you did in high school or college sports.

“And then you get this call and then you do a couple of interviews,” Leeper said. “Well, then you start remembering all the, you know, some stuff that you kind of completely forgot about.”

Leeper was a two-time high school State champion in the boy’s high jump and won a State title in the boy’s triple jump. At the time, Coldwater and Protection were two separate high schools.

“So, my records will never be broken,” Leeper quipped.

He went on to compete at Dodge City Community College and Kansas State University. While in college, Leeper was an NJCAA national indoor and outdoor champion and, in 1998, he was the NCAA Outdoor National Champion while competing for Kansas State.

Leeper then competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, in which he placed 11th in the men’s high jump, clearing 2.25 meters, which is nearly seven feet, five inches.

“I mean, obviously that’s kind of the pinnacle of a track and field athlete’s career,” Leeper said regarding the Olympics. “You know, that’s what we strive for. That can make or break a career, honestly.”

He said he looks at the Olympic trip from two standpoints. The first was that he was “a little disappointed” in his performance because the winning height at the 2000 Olympics was a height he had cleared a couple months before.

“All of those guys that you jump against the top 10 or 15 in the world, you know, you see them in a lot of the same track meets,” Leeper said. “And so they, you know, kind of what your competition is. So from the athletics, the athlete’s point of view, I was a little bit disappointed.”

At the same time, as he looks back on what he accomplished, he realizes that not many people get to say they competed in the Olympics.

“I think it’s taken time to kind of reflect back on some of that,” Leeper said. “At the time, you know, when you’re competing, I think you’re so focused on winning and competing that we don’t take a step back and appreciate it as much as we do as we get older and we’re unable to do it. But it was quite the experience.”

He noted that it rained during the finals of the high jump, which he said could have been an advantage for him as those who have lived long enough in Kansas know that “the seasons change sometimes by the hour.”

But there were some things he couldn’t prepare for, though.

“I mean, there’s no way to simulate jumping in front of 100,000 people,” Leeper said. “And, you know, the nerves and the mental side of staying focused and prepared and staying in the moment. And that was probably the hardest part about it.

“You know, the physical part of it is something that we train every single day to jump off the ground. And so that’s usually not the problem. It’s just the ability to kind of maintain focus and use that nervous energy in a positive way.”

Another thing he mentioned that sparked memories was seeing something on social media about Charles Austin, who holds the American record for the high jump of 2.40 meters, which is about seven feet, 10 1/2 inches, and that Tuesday was the anniversary of his 1996 Olympic gold medal win in Atlanta.

“And, you know, Charles and I jumped against each other for, you know, basically my whole career,” Leeper said.

He added that he remembers jumping against Javier Sotomayor of Cuba, who holds the world record in the high jump at 2.45 meters, which is roughly eight feet, one-fourth of an inch and is a record that still stands.

“So there’s kind of a flood of memories and honestly, emotions as well, because it’s, you know, as much as we, I wouldn’t say try and turn off that competitive edge,” Leeper said. “We try and suppress it a little bit, but that doesn’t really ever go away. So when you kind of bring back all those memories, it almost kind of fires you up again.”

As for his high school days, Leeper said he remembers the high jump having a strong field, as he jumped seven feet, one inch as a junior, then had an ankle injury in basketball his senior year and jumped seven feet late into track season.

“I think there was six other high jumpers in the state of Kansas that had all jumped seven foot when I was in high school,” he said. “So the high jump, you know, that event was really, really good. And anytime you can jump against some of the best guys in the, you know, obviously in the state, but most of those guys were all ranked, you know, in the top several in the U.S. So when you can compete against guys like that, then you don’t really have a choice but to get better.”

Leeper said he was “kind of blessed with the ability to jump” but, once he got to college and started training for the event, he realized some of the things he wasn’t doing well.

“As far as the (high school) coaches go, I mean, everybody tried to do their best and help and try and learn it,” he said. “And I know my dad and I spent a lot of time kind of trying to learn the event.”

But while Leeper doesn’t remember every high school track meet, he remembers the support that so many people throughout the area who supported him and his family when he had so much success in the high jump.

“The one thing that I can tell you is that the people of southwest Kansas, you know, Coldwater, Protection, Ashland, Greensburg, Minneola, Bucklin — you know, the whole part of that region had such a large part in my career and helping me along,” he said.

“They sold T-shirts to help raise money to help pay for my mom and dad to go watch the Olympics. And, you know, to this day, I mean, they’re still, everybody down there is just salt of the earth.”

He said he appreciates the congratulations that people from that area sent his way when they learned about his induction into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.

“This last weekend with the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame induction stuff, just the messages that I got, text messages, phone calls, emails, just an unbelievable amount of support and people reaching out and congratulating me,” Leeper said. “And I just, I mean, I really want to tell all of them thank you.”

Leeper and his wife Jennifer have three children. Taylor will enter eighth grade in the fall, Brynn will enter sixth grade and Colson will enter second grade.