Have Fun And Make Lifts: The Simple Strategy Pushing Hampton Morris To The Top Of The Weightlifting World

Hampton Morris approaches every weightlifting competition with a simple goal: have fun and make lifts.

As it turns out, when he does one of those things, the other seems to follow.

In April, while at the IWF World Cup in Thailand, Morris was standing by to observe the B final for his 61 kg. weight class when his dad/coach leaned over.

“You’ve officially made the Paris Olympic team,” Tripp Morris said.

That was pretty fun. And, lo and behold, a few minutes later Hampton Morris lifted a 388-pound bar and then hoisted it above his head to set a new world record in the clean & jerk. The moment, he said, was “nothing but excitement.”

“I just felt so happy in the moment,” Morris said. “So proud of myself and my dad. For all the work that we put in together. Just excited.”

Technically, Morris still hadn’t officially secured his spot in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 yet, though the results in Phuket, Thailand, all but ensured he’ll be there. And more to the point, the 176 kg. lift showed that the 20-year-old from Marietta, Georgia, will not just be in Paris, but he should be a serious medal contender there.

Weightlifting has been an Olympic sport since the start, included in every Summer Games except three in the early 1900s. Historically, only two countries have won more gold or total medals than the U.S., though only eight of Team USA’s 46 medals have come since 1968.

Team USA has seen something of a resurgence in recent years, though, including a silver and bronze medal at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Morris could be leading the next wave of that.

His lift in Phuket marked the first world record by a U.S. man since Bob Bednarski notched the snatch and total weight marks in 1969. Morris’ clean & jerk, combined with a 127 kg. snatch, lifted him to the silver medal in the total weight classification, which is the only one that counts at the Olympics.

Should Morris take the next step and reach the podium in Paris this week, he’d become the first American man to medal in weightlifting since 1984.

It all began organically.

Tripp had been a college soccer player, and then Hampton followed his dad into the sport. But when Tripp wanted to find a new way to stay active, he and Hampton’s mom, Anne Marie, started getting into CrossFit. Their young son often hung around as they trained.

“So I was always interested in barbell sports,” Hampton recalled. “Then when I was about 10, I started doing CrossFit and Olympic lifting barbell sports to get stronger for soccer.”

Before long he was competing locally, and in 2017 he debuted at a national-level event in nearby Atlanta. To his surprise — though not necessary’s Tripp’s — Hampton swept the gold medals and set American records in his division. It turns out Pyrros Dimas, the great Greek Olympic weightlifting champion (who is now the U.S. team’s technical director), witnessed the session and recommended Hampton win the technical medal for his performance.

“(My dad) knew that I was getting close to national records,” Hampton said. “But I didn’t have that in mind at all. I was just having fun.”

After that, Hampton, then 13, dropped soccer to focus on weightlifting. And he’s still having fun, though he’s also become a lot more serious.

These days, Morris is unapologetically dedicated to his sport.

Check out his Instagram account, and you’ll find post after post showing his latest impressive lifts. If you’re looking for the shots of him out on the town, there aren’t any; that’s just not what he’s into.

“Weightlifting is the only thing I do,” Morris said. “I still don’t have my driver’s license because I decided to spend all of my free time training and doing peripheral things to help me be a better weightlifter.”

That includes following a consistent training regimen that begins with “working days” Sunday through Wednesday, a recovery and physical therapy day on Thursday, and then a “primer day” Friday to prepare for Saturday — the “heavy day” — when he maxes out. Then he starts the cycle over again.

“All my other time is spent doing recovery work,” he said.

OK, Morris admits, he does allow himself some pleasures outside the sport. Lately he’s gotten into collecting vinyl records — mostly classic rock, he says: “A lot of David Bowie, a lot of Springsteen, a lot of Dire Straits.” He’s also an avid reader, although even that can sometimes lead back to weightlifting.

In addition to losing himself in Neil Gaiman and J.R.R. Tolkien stories, Morris was so taken by the book “Grit,” by the psychologist Angela Duckworth, that he recently read it for the second time.

“Basically, the most successful people in the world are the ones who are able to take setbacks in stride and just keep moving forward,” Morris said, adding that he recommends all athletes read it.

Morris even answers a question about his diet in a sport-first fashion.

“Right now it’s 220 grams of protein, about 420 grams of carbs and 70, 75 grams of fat,” he said.

For the record, that means lots of rice —about two pounds per day, he said — plus fruits, chicken, red meat and nuts.

This life might sound strict to outsiders, but for Morris it’s the dream. 

He loves what he does, and he’s still having fun. That’s the approach he’s taking into Paris, too. As the No. 2-ranked athlete in his weight class, Morris knows he should be in the running for a medal. And, of course, he really wants to come home with one. But just like that first big competition seven years ago in Atlanta, his approach to Paris remains simple.

“Really, my main goal is just to make lifts and have fun,” Morris said. “That’s all I try to think about in any competition: Just have fun.

“No matter what, I will still be an Olympian,” he adds. “Yeah. That feels amazing to say.”