What started as an intent to grow stronger for soccer has since transformed into weightlifting history. Hampton Morris, a 20-year-old Marietta resident and Alan C. Pope High School graduate, returned from Paris with a bronze medal in hand from the 61kg class of the men’s weightlifting event in the 2024 Olympics. “It feels amazing,” Hampton said upon his return home. “I’m still not sure that it has completely set in.”
Having started at age 10 with his first competition at age 12, Hampton trains under his father, Tripp Morris, in a home gym they built in their garage. Initially, the intent was for someone else to train Hampton, as Tripp had no prior experience in the sport. But when doors continued to close due to misaligned school and gym class schedules, gyms being reluctant to let someone so young lift on their own, and the excessive distance to the facility, Tripp took it upon himself to learn how to coach his son through his dreams. As a result, the two transformed their garage into weightlifting central—a transformation that was once a necessity but has since turned into an asset.
Hampton continues to astound the world with his accomplishments. “Hampton’s very humble about it,” Tripp said of his son’s success. While the records show Hampton is the first American medalist in the men’s weightlifting event since 1984, it is arguable that it was actually 1976. The Russians, a team well-acclaimed for their weightlifting abilities, did not participate in the 1980 Olympics, leaving it up in the air as to whether the U.S. team would have claimed a medal if they had. “Being able to win a medal for the U.S. after so long makes me feel really proud of myself and my dad for all the hard work we’ve both put in for such a long time,” Hampton said. “It feels like it’s really paying off.”
This is not the first drought Hampton has ended, either, as he became the first American to win a gold medal at the 2023 World Weightlifting Championship in over 50 years. No other U.S. men’s weightlifter has obtained a youth, junior, and senior world championships gold medal, and Hampton currently holds both the junior and senior clean and jerk world records in the men's 61kg class.
“Consistency is a really important thing in the sport,” Hampton said. “Giving consistent effort in and outside of training.” This extends to having a consistent diet as well. “Nutrition is a really big part of it and the hardest thing to stay consistent with,” he said. “It’s one of the hardest sacrifices I have to make.” With a strict diet consisting mainly of white rice, fruit, deli chicken, meat, nuts, and protein shakes, which equates to approximately 3,200 calories, Hampton’s diet remains the same nearly every day—something he claims not to get bored of. Only once a week does he allow himself a cheat meal, which he considers anything different from his normal diet. Even then, he says, “My go-to is ramen, which is still very clean compared to typical cheat meals.”
His diet differs from other athletes, though, in that Hampton eats a lot immediately before, immediately after, and throughout his workout. “I want to fuel myself well for long training sessions and recover well after training,” he said. “You don’t really see many athletes doing that.”
When asked what advice he would offer to those aspiring to reflect his accomplishments in their own life, Hampton said, “The sacrifices you make for the sport need to match your goals.” For athletes aiming to join the international team or make national records, etc., “If you’re not eating right, getting enough sleep, etc., it’s going to be really hard to do any of that.”
There’s no rest for the wicked, as immediately upon his return from the Paris Olympics, Hampton has already resumed his training. “I’m currently working to get back on my full training and recovery schedule and prep for Junior Worlds in a few weeks,” he said. While his training remains rigorous in preparation for his next competition, Hampton’s return to his typical training schedule allows him to resume his pursuit of personal goals as well. “Now that I’m not training for the Olympics,” he said, “I have time to get my driver’s license.”