Next to him is father-turned-coach Tripp Morris, who has no formal training as a weightlifting coach.
MARIETTA, Ga. — It's a place where raw strength and technique meet, and one of the 20-year-old weightlifting champions is making strides in Georgia as he looks to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
“It's been very, very busy,” said Hampton Morris, a junior world champion gold medalist weightlifter and current American record holder from Marietta.
His passion for the sport began around the age of 10, and he is now the first American man in 50 years to win a world championship gold medal. But that journey began with another sport: soccer.
“By the end we knew he was very good at weightlifting. It took us a little while to figure it out, but after maybe six months, without really trying, (we) ) was approaching an American youth record,'' Tripp Morris Hampton Morris' father said.
Watch the full interview with Hampton Morris below.
Although Tripp has no formal training in weightlifting, he quickly threw himself into the sport to support his son.
“My dad coached me from the beginning,” Hampton said. Furthermore, he added, “He has sacrificed as much as I have sacrificed towards my dreams.”
The family moved to another house and gave up the garage to create a gym for practice. Hampton said all of her family and friends helped with the construction.
“We have everything. We don't have anything here. There's no one to come here and train and say, 'Oh, I need this,'” Tripp said. “Everything is there.”
And Tripp Morris still hasn't missed a road trip, said Hampton-Morris, who credits much of his success to his father's tough coaching style.
Check out the full interview with Tripp Morris below.
“If he wasn't such a tough coach and if he didn't hold me to high standards, I wouldn't have been as successful as I was,” he said.
That dedication and perseverance paid off at the recent European Championships, where Hampton moved up three places in the Olympic qualification rankings and moved one step closer to her Olympic dream.
“This will be the greatest accomplishment of my life so far,” Hampton-Morris said. “It's a great reward for all the hard work that I and those around me have put in for almost 10 years.”
