Rodrigo Mendes is a jumper. He always has been. Over his lifetime he's done countless jumps. High jumps. Long jumps. Triple jumps. But none were bigger than the two jumps that landed him at BYU.
The 6-foot-3 Mendes grew up in Presidente Prudente, Brazil. His mother was a member of the church and his father was not. His parents were good people. He enjoyed his life in Brazil. He learned to love track as a young man there.
His first experience with track came through a church activity actually. The youth in his ward went to the track one evening. He gave the long jump a try and found out he liked jumping. But perhaps more importantly, he learned he was good at jumping.
His love for jumping grew. He competed in high school, by the time he was 19 years old, he was competing in the high jump at the Brazil Junior Nationals. He finished second in the event. A year later, he placed second in the long jump at the Brazil Junior Nationals.
About this same time, he learned the triple jump. By the year 2000, Mendes was ranked No. 1 in South America in the triple jump.
That same year he competed in the Ibero-American Games. The Games feature athletes from the most of the Latin countries in the world, including Brazil, Spain, Cuba, Portugal and other South American countries.
Mendes said it was the biggest meet of his life. He performed well enough in the triple jump to finish second, trailing only an Olympian from Cuba.
Then came the biggest jump in Mendes's life. But it wasn't a triple jump, high jump or long jump. It was a leap of faith.
Mendes decided to leave track behind and serve a mission. His coach told him he couldn't leave track for two years, come back and compete at the same level.
"I thought I was quitting track forever," Mendes said. "But I knew that if I didn't serve, I would regret it."
Mendes was called to serve in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. While on his mission, he met Jeff Taylor. Taylor who would soon leave for Provo to become a member of the BYU track team. The two met and spoke for about 30 minutes when Mendes entered the mission field. Taylor said he would try to get Mendes a spot on the team.
The two chatted a couple more times over the phone before Taylor returned home. Then contact ceased for almost a year.
Then one day Taylor and BYU men's track coach Mark Robison called Mendes and offered him a spot on the team. Mendes accepted.
Then came another giant leap of faith in Mendes life. He came to BYU, having never been to America and speaking no English.
"I was scared. Everything was different," Mendes said. "But I got a lot of support from my teammates."
He said he was especially helped by teammates who had also served missions in Brazil and spoke Portuguese. He found comfort in practicing. Jumping here was the same as it was in Brazil. He was still a good jumper.
Things have gotten better since he first set foot in Provo. Mendes now speaks fluent English. He's planning to major in Finance. He's very appreciative of the opportunity he has to go to school at BYU. He said he feels he came to BYU to get an education and then go back and serve the people of Brazil.
"It's really a miracle that I'm here," he said. "I would never be here without track."
But before he takes what he learns here back with him to Brazil, there are a couple of things he'd like to accomplish before then.
He's got his eyes on the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. He will train for the Olympics here while he finishes school. He's also made it a goal to break the BYU's triple jump record-the oldest men's track record. After finishing second at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship, he's got a good chance to break the record.
And after the two giant leaps he took to get here, it would only be fitting if he had one more big jump for the record book.