Hampton Morris, a 20-year-old from Marietta, triumphed as the first U.S. men's weightlifter to claim an Olympic medal since the 1984 games, securing a bronze in the men's 61-kilogram division in Paris. Practicing in his garage-turned-gym, Morris—under the tutelage of his father, Tripp—exceeded expectations but narrowly missed a silver medal and a new world record by the thinnest of margins, as WABE reports.

"It’s amazing that I’m able to leave that kind of mark in the sport. I’m just in disbelief," Morris expressed his astonishment and pride following his podium finish; joining the ranks of Olympic medalists Mario Martinez and Guy Carlton, both from Los Angeles, in 1984, his predecessors, he faltered slightly on his initial clean and jerk lift, which added an unplanned element of suspense to his performance, a slip-up spotted by USA Gymnastics senior director of sport performance Mike Gattone, who pointed out "That’s the third guy I’ve seen slip on that platform," according to a WABE interview.

Gathering his composure, Morris executed a successful second attempt with a 172-kilogram (379 pound) lift that hoisted him into medal contention, ultimately amassing a total score of 298. The young athlete even ventured for a world record with a 178-kilogram clean and jerk, though this proved just beyond his grasp, "I knew I had it in me," said Morris, the youngest U.S. weightlifter at the Games since Cheryl Haworth in 2000, “Any other day, I would definitely have a shot at making it. Today I had a shot of making it,” as he told WABE.

Meanwhile, China's Li Fabin successfully defended his title, setting an Olympic record in the snatch; his winning performance came as no surprise, given his status as the favorite in the event, "It was a smooth competition," Li recounted through an interpreter, acknowledging the cohesive strategies of his team that paved the road to gold, in a statement that suggests both preparation and poise remained at the forefront of his second consecutive Olympic victory, as he became the first weightlifter to achieve back-to-back titles since Naim Suleymanoglu of Turkey won three in a row from 1988-96, with Theerapong Silachai of Thailand snaring the silver. On the women's side, Hou Zhihui kept the gold medal in Chinese hands, breaking the Olympic clean and jerk record in the women's 49-kilogram division—further showcasing China's dominance in the sport.

Morris, who's yet to exchange his bronze medal success for a driver's license, remains upbeat about his future prospects, eyeing Los Angeles 2028 for potentially even greater accomplishments, "I don’t have anywhere else to go, so I never had any real need to get my driver’s license," he confided, revealing a charmingly singular focus on his lifting career which has been supported extensively by his family—his mother Anne Marie, his sister Etta, and grandmother Debbie—who drives him to physical therapy sessions, it's a familial support system that underpins his sporting achievements and offers a reminder that behind every medal, there's a network of dedication not always visible atop the podium, as reported by WABE.