Robbie Pratt: Mormon Athlete

Robison Pratt is an Olympic pole vaulter; he made it to the semifinals at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He qualified with a personal best of 18 feet 4.5 inches.

Pratt was born on February 25, 1980, in Saudi Arabia, where his father, Elbert, was coaching the Saudi Olympic team. He and his family moved to Chihuahua, Mexico two years later, where he became a citizen of Mexico (he has dual citizenship in Mexico and the United States). His family then moved to El Paso, Texas, when he was thirteen years old. His father was a decathlete at Brigham Young University and became a professional coach; Robbie was coached by his father in pole vault. He won his first pole vaulting medal (first place) at the Pan American Junior Championships in Havana, Cuba, at the age of seventeen. After a cerebral hemorrhage that left him unable to compete for eight months, he broke the Mexican Junior National Record six times.

After the Olympics, Pratt served a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Torreon, Mexico.

While studying at BYU, he became the 2003 Mountain West Conference Champion, the 2005 NCAA National Champion, and runner-up in the 2006 NCAA National Championships. In 2006, he ranked sixteenth worldwide and had a personal best of 18 feet 8.25 inches. He was also named to the 2006 IAAF World Cup Team to represent the Americas, where he finished ninth. In 2007, he became a World Championships semifinalist and a finalist in the Pan American Games.

In 2006 he earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and exercise science. He earned his MBA in finance from the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business. He is a cofounding partner at Havenpark Capital Partners in the Salt Lake City area.

His wife, Lisa, is a track and field All-American.