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.[3] 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.[3]
Rivera played football before he began practicing the long jump at the age of 17.[3][4]
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.[5] 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.[5]
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 [es] in 2013 for his performances.[6]
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).[3] He subsequently earnned his PhD in industrial engineering from ITESM.[6]
His brother, Edgar Rivera, competes in the high jump. Two other brothers, Adrián and Jorge, also compete in athletics.[7] A documentary about the Rivera quartet, called El gran salto, was released in 2021.[7]
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.[8]
Rivera playing chess against a student during Teacher Appreciation Week
"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
Mexico
