Born in Csongrád, Hungary, Mate started swimming at the age of seven, and had competed for breaststroke events in numerous national junior and senior championships.

After graduating from the university, Mate was approached by the Austrian Swimming Federation (German: Österreichischen Schwimmverband, OSV), and accepted gradually as member of the national team.

Mate made his international debut at the 2007 European Short Course Swimming Championships in Debrecen, where he finished in eleventh place for the 50 m, thirteenth for the 100 m, and sixteenth for the 200 m breaststroke.

Mate qualified for two swimming events at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, by clearing a FINA A-standard entry time of 2:13.21 (200 m breaststroke) from the European Championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

[9] In the 200 m breaststroke, Mate challenged seven other swimmers on the second heat including Canada's Scott Dickens and four-time Olympian Jakob Johann Sveinsson of Iceland.