Luis Rivera (athlete)

Luis Alberto Rivera Morales (born 21 June 1987) is a Mexican long jumper. He won a bronze medal at the 2013 World Championships and a gold medal at the 2013 Summer Universiade. He also competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics. His personal best is 8.46 metres, achieved in July 2013.

His brother, Edgar Rivera, competes in the high jump.

Early life
A native of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Rivera was oldest of four children born to Luis Rivera Pompa and Alejandra Morales. His father had excelled in athletics while his maternal grandfather, León Morales Amézquita, was a marathon runner and played professional football for Unión de Curtidores.

Rivera played football before he began practicing the long jump at the age of 17.

He attended Central Arizona College, where he learned English. He won the junior college national championship in both the triple jump and the long jump. After finishing his General Studies degree, he transferred to the University of Arizona, where he was named all-American in long jump. He also won the indoor and outdoor conference titles in both the long jump and triple jump.

Career
In 2013, Rivera competed at the Summer Universiade held in Kazan, Russia, where he jumped 8.46 meters to take the gold medal in a head-to-head battle with Russian national favorite Aleksandr Menkov, who finished 4 cm behind. Rivera's winning jump became the Mexican national record, and the University Games record.

Just over a month later, at the World Championships in Moscow, Russia, Menkov was again in the competition. This time Menkov took the gold with the Russian National record of 8.56 m while Rivera took the bronze medal with a jump of 8.27 m.

Rivera was given the National Sports Award in 2013 for his performances.

Personal life
Rivera earned his bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Arizona before earning his master's degree in electrical engineering from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM). He subsequently earnned his PhD in industrial engineering from ITESM.

His brother, Edgar Rivera, competes in the high jump. Two other brothers, Adrián and Jorge, also compete in athletics. A documentary about the Rivera quartet, called El gran salto, was released in 2021.

In May 2021, Rivera announced his candidacy for the municipal president of Agua Prieta, challenging incumbent Jesús Alfonso Montaño Durazo, cousin of Governor Alfonso Durazo.

Teaching Careerer
After earning his PhD, Rivera soon began to teach pre-calculus,  AP and standard geometry at Douglas High School in Douglas, Arizona, a town closely linked as the sister city of Agua Prieta, Sonora. "I don't have this class, i'm just here because my boyfriend is" - Girlfriend of a student of Rivera

"O te toca un profe que sabe enseñar o con el que sacas curas, y en la clase del Rivera las curas nunca faltaron." - Former student of Rivera