Miguel Pate (born June 13, 1979 in St. Francisville,
Louisiana) is an American track and field athlete.
His speciality is the long jump, although during his
high school and collegiate career he has also done
the triple jump, high jump, 100 m, 200 m, 4x100 m
relay, and 4x400 m.
Miguel Pate attended West Feliciana High School in
Louisiana from 1994 to 1997. After graduating High
School he attended Meridian Junior College from 1997
until 1999 where he excelled in the triple jump and
long jump and addition to playing on the basketball
team his freshman year. His first year he had a
personal best of 50'7¼" (15.42 m) in the triple jump
and 25'2½" (7.68 m) in the long jump. Pate finished
fourth at the National Junior College Athletic
Association (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 52'07 (16.02 m).
The following year Pate transferred to the
University of Alabama. At the University of Alabama
Pate continued to improve under the tutelage of Rod
Tiffin. At the University of Alabama Pate won the
World University Games and was an All American
several times. 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 27'4" (8.33 m) and remained
undefeated all season going into the United States
of America Track and Field (USATF) Indoor
Championships. At the meet Pate jumped 28'2¼" (8.59
m) and won the competition by nearly two feet. Only
two people have ever jumped farther indoors in human
history. Pate went on the 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.
As a professional Pate has had a rocky career. He
began the spring of 2002 with several jumps over 27
feet (8.23 meters). 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, MLC as well
as other ligaments, ending his season and putting
his career in jeopardy. Pate tried to return to form
in 2004 but only managed to jump 26'1½" (7.96
meters) 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 with a
leap of 27'4½" (8.34 meters). 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 (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.
