Hampton Morris Becomes First American Men's Olympic Medalist Since 1984

PARIS - Hampton Morris tied an Olympic record 172 kg clean & jerk en route to earning a bronze medal in the 61 kg session at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Morris lifted 126/172/298 to earn bronze behind Thailand’s Theerapong Silachai (303 kg) and China’s Li Fabin (310 kg). His 172 kg C&J put him one kilogram ahead of Malaysia’s Aniq Kasdan. The young American then looked to break his own clean & jerk world record of 176 kg with an attempt at 178 kg that would have earned him a silver medal, but he came just shy of completing the jerk portion. The bronze is Team USA’s 48th Olympic weightlifting medal, and 15th bronze. 

FULL MEN'S 61 KG RESULTS

Originally listed to open the snatch at 125 kg, Morris ultimately dropped to a more conservative 122 kg to open competition. Staying at 125 kg would have tied the heaviest opener of his career. After successfully snatching 122 kg, his second attempt of 125 kg was called a no lift due to a press out. Morris remained confident and bumped his third attempt up to 126 kg, just one kilogram shy of the American record that he set at the 2024 IWF World Cup in Phuket. Morris showed perfect form on this attempt, and sat in fifth after the snatch portion of the competition. 

Four out of the 12 lifters were unable to record a successful snatch, leaving just eight competitors in the clean & jerk portion. Morris would have to wait until the rest of the competition attempted at least one clean & jerk before attempting the heaviest opener of the session at 168 kg. He made the clean look easy, but was unsuccessful on the jerk. On his second attempt (172 kg), he looked to avoid any slippage by rolling the bar forward to the front of the platform before his lift. His feet stayed true and he completed the clean & jerk to tie the Olympic record and move into position for a bronze medal. Trailing the second-place lifter by five kilograms, Morris bumped his third attempt to a potential world record 178 kg. Morris completed the clean, but couldn’t finish the jerk. 

One of two juniors in the 61 kg session, Morris is four months older than Kiribati’s Kaimauri Erati. Erati recorded 100/120/220 in his first Olympic Games. 

Morris set the stage for the remaining four American weightlifters in Paris, with Jourdan Delacruz immediately following in the 49 kg session at 1:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday morning.

QUOTES

PARIS - Comments from bronze medalist Hampton MORRIS (USA) and USAW Senior Director of Sport Performance Mike Gattone following the Men’s 61kg Weightlifting at South Paris Arena 6 on Wednesday.

Hampton MORRIS (USA) – Bronze

On his range of emotions during the competition:

“This whole time I’ve just been so excited to be here. I was very happy when I made that first snatch and I felt very solid. I felt relieved that I made it. That second snatch, I was still confident and knew what I needed to correct. I did that on the third snatch. I was very solid and I’m very happy with what I put up.

On the clean and jerks:  

“I felt really great in the back room. That first attempt up on stage – I’m mad. The white paint on the platform is slick, it’s not safe. On the next two attempts I moved the barbell away from it and I was able to make my second attempt (172 kg).” 

On moving up the standings after hitting a 172 kg lift:

“I approached the bar knowing I would make it. I didn’t have any doubt in my mind I would do it. It’s something I’ve done in training plenty of times. There’s no room for doubt in this sport. Just know you can make it and execute.”

On the view from the medal podium and whether it met his expectations:

“Oh, it was amazing. It was so much more than I imagined. I’m so happy.”

On if Silachai and he will continue to push each other for the gold medal in Los Angeles 2024 with Fabin potentially not returning:  

“I feel that we’ll definitely be pushing each other in the next year or two, for sure. For L.A., the only thing that I’m unsure about is whether or not we’ll be in the same weight category again. I’m not sure what his plan is. We’ve definitely pushed each other this far. I’m grateful for that.

USAW Senior Director of Sport Performance Mike Gattone:

On the experience and moment of Morris earning the first men’s medal in 40 years: 

“Yeah, crazy. Missing that 68 (168 kg clean & jerk opener) was a little bit tenuous, but obviously his foot slipped. But if you remember, that's what happened when he set the world record. He missed his opener, came back and made and then we got a world record. So, I wasn't super worried. I think the calls were really good and he responded to the lifts and he came close to hitting a world record again and moving up another spot. So, he had a great day. The kid is amazing. It was a great, great day. I mean, really he was one kilogram behind his meet PR in the snatch. That 125 (kg) he just flubbed a little bit. He got the double press out, came back really strongly. He was just great. For the first lifter on the team leading us off – amazing.”