MARIETTA, Ga. — Day in and day out, the goal never changes: More weight on the bar. This kind of huge power doesn’t happen without analyzing minute details.
“I track heart rate variability, resting heart rate, hours of sleep, and how I’m feeling physically and mentally. I’m four out of five physically, five out of five mentally,” said Hampton Morris, a newly qualifying Olympic weightlifter from Marietta.
Morris has every reason to feel great. This summer is going to be monumental for the Morris family.
Parents want nothing more than to see their children happy, help them find what they love, and celebrate their children’s success along the way. That’s why mom Anne Marie is hanging a scoring sheet. It is the official version of the notes carefully documented in Dad Tripp’s competition journal.
They are numbers that rewrote history.
At 20 years old, Hampton set new American junior and senior records, along with two record-breaking totals in February with a phenomenal snatch of 126 kg (277.78 lbs), followed by a commanding clean and jerk of 171 kg (376.99 lbs), culminating in an impressive total of 297 kg (654.77 lbs) in the 61 kg (134.48 lbs) category.
Morris set eight new American records throughout the competition, and his 171 kg clean and jerk tied the junior world record.
Hampton’s dad, who is also his coach, was just off stage, ready with a hug.
"This is my favorite moment of any competition, no matter the outcome. But the results that day made more history," Tripp Morris, Hampton's father, said. “I told him, ‘You made the Olympics,’ that after his lift, no one else could catch him,”
Hampton had just returned home to Marietta from his first trip with the newly named U.S. Olympic weightlifting team. He brought back a lot of swag.
“I was so excited,” Hampton said. “It really shows that all the hard work paid off. I can’t wait to show the world what I can do.”
And there was a perfect gift waiting for the guy who loved Legos growing up.
“My sister gave me an awesome Lego set of all the biggest landmarks in Paris,” he said. “It helps me get excited for all of the places I may want to see.”
Now, he pushes each practice in his converted garage, hoping for a podium—that wouldn’t be just for him.
“There would be no chance of this Olympic dream without my family,” he said. “It’s really been a long hard road, together.”
The date is set on the calendar, the tickets are booked, and the Morris family is counting down to this experience of a lifetime together.