Hampton Morris breaks 61kg weightlifting world record at IWF World Cup Thailand 

You can call him CHAMPton Morris.

On day 3 of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Cup in Thailand, USA Weightlifting’s Hampton Morris broke a senior weightlifting world record with a clean and jerk in the 61 kg weight class by lifting 176 kilograms (388 pounds). This is the first time in 55 years that an American man has set a senior world record.

The 20-year-old Junior World Champion from Marietta, Georgia, has now increased his position in the 61 kg class rankings from 7th to 2nd behind Tokyo Olympic champion Li Fabin of China.

Morris felt confident in his ranking leading up to his attempt after none of the lifters in B Group were able to challenge his place in the top 10.

Morris told the IWF, "I knew the world record was a possibility. My coach (his father Tripp) told me that if we knew going into the session that I’d made the Olympic team, we’d just have fun.”

The pressure is on at IWF

As expected, the pressure is immense at these final qualifiers for Paris 2024. Twelve of the 29 entrants in the 61 kg sessions were unsuccessful, including Tokyo 2020 67 kg gold medallist Chen Lijun from China and 61 kg silver medallist Eko Yuli Irawan from Indonesia.

The IWF World Cup competition continues through 11 April as lifters vie to increase their rankings. Only the top ten athletes in the men’s and women’s weight classes will be eligible to secure quota spots to advance to the Olympic Games. In total, 120 athletes will compete in 10 categories (five for women and five for men). Each NOC can only qualify one athlete per weight class and three per gender across all weight categories.

Two Americans hold second-place rankings

This second-place ranking puts Morris in a very comfortable position to advance. The US now boasts two 20-year-old phenoms in a second-place ranking, with Olivia Reeves holding second place in the 71 kg class. Reeves is set to compete on 7 April alongside teammate Meredith Alwine.

National Olympic Committees (NOCs) have exclusive authority over the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, so each athlete's participation in the Paris Games will depend on the selection of their NOC to represent their delegation in Paris 2024*.*