KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Natasha Brown put together one of the most storied track careers in University of Missouri history and backed it up with an Olympic medal.
In fact, the annual award for Mizzou’s top female track and field athlete is named in her honor.
Brown, formerly Natasha Kaiser, was a six-time All-American for the Tigers in the 400 meters and won five Big Eight championships in various events.
Her crowning achievement at Mizzou came in 1989 when she won an indoor national championship in the 400. She was the national runner-up at the outdoor meet.
As a senior at Mizzou, Brown was named the 1989 Big Eight Female Athlete of the Year.
Three years later, Brown claimed an Olympic silver medal as part of the U.S. 1,600-meter relay at the 1992 Barcelona Games. She also ran in the open 400, missing the final by 0.2 seconds.
Brown is the only female Olympic medalist in Tigers history.
She also won a silver medal in the 400 and gold in the 1,600 relay at the 1993 World Championships.
That year, she also won a silver medal in the 1,600 relay at the World Indoor Championships, a feat she would repeat at the 1997 World Indoor Championships as part of American record-setting team.
Brown was the U.S. champion in the 400 in 1997.
She also won a gold medal in the 1,600 relay at the 1991 Pan American Games and went on to win the 400 at the prestigious Drake Relays three times (1990, 1993, 1998).
After her first Olympics, Brown returned to Columbia from 1993 to 2000 as an assistant track and field coach before becoming the head women’s track and field coach for 16 years at Drake University.
Brown also took over the men’s program in 2003, serving 12 seasons as the head coach for both programs.
She returned to MU again in 2016 as an associate head coach for sprints, hurdles and relays. Brown, a Des Moines native, is enshrined in the Drake Relays Hall of Fame. She was a nine-time state champion in high school.
She was enshrined in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
Brown also made the 1996 Olympic team in the 400.
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The Kansas City region has a deep, rich history with respect to the Olympic Games. As the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games approach with the Opening Ceremony scheduled for July 23, we will profile an athlete with ties to Kansas City, Missouri or Kansas each day.
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