The modern bodyweight categories in weightlifting were unveiled back in 2018. Since that time, no American male athlete has claimed a world record at the Senior level — a streak that 19-year-old Hampton Morris is poised to break. On Thursday, June 14, 2023, Morris posted a recent lift to social media; a massive 176-kilogram (388-pound) clean & jerk that he had hit in training back on May 22.
176 kilograms exceeds the current 61-kilogram (Morris’ class of choice) world record by one kilo and was a new 1-rep max. China’s 2020 Olympic Champion Li Fabin hit that 175-kilo lift at the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships, a record that may not stand the test of time if Morris has anything to say about it.
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At the 2023 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Grand Prix I in Havana, Cuba, Morris achieved a 290-kilogram (639.3-pound) Total by way of 124 kilograms (273.3 pounds) in the snatch and a 166-kilogram (365.9-pound) clean & jerk.
According to Morris’ Instagram account, this performance made him the undisputed king of the 61-kilogram class in the States. He now possesses the snatch, clean & jerk, and Total American Records in the Youth, Junior, and Senior age groups.
A Medal Machine
At just 19 years of age, Morris is a medal printer for the United States across the international circuit. With the sole exception of 2022 Worlds (where he ranked 15th overall), over the past few years, Morris has stood in first or second position on the podium at every IWF event he attends:
- 2023 Pan American Championships: 1st
- 2022 Pan American Championships: 1st
- 2022 Junior World Championships: 1st
- 2021 Junior Pan American Games: 2nd
- 2021 Pan American Championships: 1st
- 2021 Youth World Championships: 1st
- 2020 Pan American Junior Championships: 1st
Along the way, Morris has slain (and re-slain) Youth and Junior records in the clean & jerk in particular. In the sport of weightlifting, the clean & jerk depends more on tremendous leg strength and overall power production than the snatch.
Morris boasts a reserve of both, which speaks well to his chances of making modern history for the United States by bagging a Senior record while still in his teens. Time will tell, but a betting person would bet on Morris. Speaking to BarBend, he remarked that his next competition will be the USA Weightlifting National Championships, beginning on June 24 in Colorado Springs.
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Featured Image: @hamptonmorris on Instagram
