Hampton Morris wins historic Olympic weightlifting medal for USA: 'I'm just in disbelief'

PARIS — For the first time in 40 years, an American man has won an Olympic medal in weightlifting.

Hampton Morris, a 20-year-old who trains primarily out of the garage at his family's Georgia home, ended the decadeslong drought by winning bronze at the 2024 Paris Games on Wednesday. Between the two types of lifts in Olympic weightlifting − snatch, and clean and jerk − the 135-pound Morris hoisted a combined weight of 298 kilograms, which is about 657 pounds.

And in the process, he made history. Although American women won weightlifting medals in each of the past two editions of the Summer Games, a U.S. man hadn't done so since 1984 − a whopping 20 years before Morris was born. Mario Martinez (silver) and Guy Carlton (bronze) each won medals at those 1984 Olympics, which were held in Los Angeles.

"It's amazing that I'm able to leave that kind of mark in the sport," Morris said. "I'm just in disbelief."

Morris was sitting in fifth place after his snatch but leapfrogged into medal position once the competition moved to clean and jerk, where he is the reigning world-record holder in his weight class. He even attempted to add 4 pounds to his own record, which is about 392 pounds, with the last lift of the day. But no luck.

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"I knew I had it in me," said Morris, who added that he has previously lifted that weight in training. "Any other day, I would definitely have a shot at making it. Today I had a shot of making it."

Li Fabin of China took gold, while Theerapong Silachai of Thailand finished with silver.

Morris earned Olympic bronze, in part, thanks to smart strategy − something he said he leaves entirely up to his coaches.

In the snatch, they had Morris start light and work his way up to 278 pounds, while four of the 11 other competitors failed to complete a lift. Then, when the competition moved to clean and jerk, Morris started with the heaviest weight of the field − 370 pounds. Because the weight determines the order of competition, working from lightest to heaviest, this allowed Morris' coaches to see how the leaderboard was unfolding.

After appearing to slip and failing to complete his first clean and jerk, Morris raised the weight by 9 pounds, rolled the bar toward the front of the platform and hit it, screaming "that's right!" as he left the stage. Aniq Kasdan, the only man with a chance of surpassing Morris, then failed to complete his remaining lifts.

"That middle part (of the platform), the white paint, is very slick. I knew that it was a problem after the first clean and jerk," Morris said. "But after I dealt with that, all that was going through my head was just execute. Make the clean, make the jerk."

Wednesday's performance is the latest highlight in a wild few years in which he's gone from competitive newbie to legitimate medal contender. The Marietta, Georgia, native started competing when he was only 14 years old but has since gone on to set 10 world records across the youth, junior and senior age divisions. He broke the clean and jerk world record earlier this year at an event in Thailand and was one of the top-ranked lifters at his weight entering Paris.

He ascended to the top of the sport while maintaining a relatively low-key lifestyle. He said he doesn't yet have a driver's license. His father, Tripp, serves as his primary coach. And he trains almost exclusively out of the three-car garage at the family's home, which they converted into a gym.

But what he's doing clearly worked Wednesday.

"This whole experience has been so incredible," Morris said. "Now all I can hope for is that I can do even better in L.A. in four years."

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.