Miguel Pate (born June 13, 1979 in

St. Francisville, Louisiana St. Francisville is a town in and the parish seat of, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,765 at the 2010 U.S. census, and 1,589 at the 2020 population estimates program. It is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan ...

) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete. His speciality is the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

, although during his high school and collegiate career he also competed in the

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

, 100 m, 200 m, 4 × 100 m relay, and 4 × 400 m.

Biography

Miguel "Stay out them boxes" Pate attended

West Feliciana High School West Feliciana Parish Public Schools (WFPPS) or West Feliciana Parish School Board (WFPSB) is a school district headquartered in St. Francisville, Louisiana, United States. The district serves residents of West Feliciana Parish, including St. ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

from 1994 to 1997. After graduating West Feliciana High School he attended

Meridian Junior College Meridian Junior College (MJC) was a junior college in Singapore, offering two-year pre-university courses leading up to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level examination. Situated in the eastern residential estate of Pasir Ris, it is the s ...

from 1997 until 1999 where he excelled in the triple jump and long jump and addition to playing on the

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

year. His first year he had a personal best of in the triple jump and in the long jump. Pate finished fourth at the

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

(NJCAA) Track and Field Championships in the long jump. The following year he won the NJCAA Championship in the triple jump and had a wind aided personal best of . The following year Pate transferred to the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

. At the

Pate continued to improve under the tutelage of Rod Tiffin. At the University of Alabama Pate won the 2001 World University Games and was an All American several times while competing for the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...

. However, Miguel had not yet won an NCAA Championship. In 2002 Pate had his breakout season. Pate turned down the opportunity to sign a professional track and field contract in order to finish his eligibility. Because Pate played basketball in the winter of his freshman year at Meridian Junior College he had eligibility to compete during the NCAA indoor track and field season. Miguel began his season with a jump of and remained undefeated all season going into the

USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. In years which feature a World Indoor Championships in ...

. At the meet Pate jumped and won the competition by nearly two feet; with this jump, Pate also became the NCAA Indoor Long Jump record holder. Only two people have ever jumped farther indoors in human history. Pate went on to win the NCAA Championship in the long jump and was runner up in the triple jump. In the spring Pate signed a professional contract with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

. As a professional Pate has had a rocky career. He began the spring of 2002 with several jumps over . He was second at the USATF Outdoor Championships and finished the year ranked 2nd in the world. In 2003 Pate continued his success by winning the USATF Indoor Championship in the long jump. However, at a meet in Oregon in the spring Pate injured his knee, tearing his ACL,

MCL The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3) ...

as well as other

ligament A ligament is the fibrous connective tissue that connects bones to other bones. It is also known as ''articular ligament'', ''articular larua'', ''fibrous ligament'', or ''true ligament''. Other ligaments in the body include the: * Peritoneal li ...

s, ending his season and putting his career in jeopardy. Pate tried to return to form in 2004 but only managed to jump that year in limited action. In 2005 Pate showed the form he had before the injury by winning the USATF Outdoor Championship in the long jump over 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist

Dwight Phillips Dwight Phillips (born October 1, 1977) is an American former track and field, athlete and a four-time IAAF World Championships in Athletics, world champion in the long jump. He was the 2004 Summer Olympics, 2004 Olympic champion in the event. Hi ...

with a leap of . In 2006, Pate finished 3rd at the USATF Outdoor Championships with a jump of (7.96m/26-1.5) and had a season best jump at the Nike

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic, an Oregon Track Club event, is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States, held in Eugene, Oregon. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at Hayward Field on the campus of the University o ...

(8.27m/27-1.75). Pate finished the year ranked 7th in the world (#2 in the U.S.) by T&FN. In 2007, Pate finished 2nd at the USATF Outdoor Championships (8.24m/27-0.5) and qualified for the World Outdoor Championships in

Osaka, Japan is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third most populous city in Ja ...

where he placed 10th (7.94m/26-0.75). Pate finished the 2007 season ranked #3 in the U.S. by T&FN. In 2008, Pate finished 3rd at the USATF Outdoor Championships/Olympic Trials with a jump of (8.22/26-11.75) which qualified him for the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Achievements

Personal bests

*Long Jump - *Triple Jump -

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pate, Miguel 1979 births Living people American male long jumpers People from St. Francisville, Louisiana Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade gold medalists for the United States Medalists at the 2001 Summer Universiade