Chris Morgan (born 16 March 1973) is a British
powerlifter
Powerlifting is a competitive strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight singl ...
. He is a global ambassador to the
Federation of Gay Games and a ten-time world champion in his sport.
Career
WDFPF / BDFPA
Morgan competed in the 75 kg Open class from 1998 to 2006. He won the silver medal in the
World Drug-Free Powerlifting Federation Finals in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
in November 2004, the gold medal in December 2005 at the finals in
Turin
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
and the bronze medal in November 2006 at the finals in Ireland. Morgan is amongst the earliest openly gay male athletes to win world medals in sports globally and is the most successful openly gay strength athlete of all time.
Following a break from competing in 2007 due to illness, Morgan returned in the 82.5 kilo Open class, this time mainly competing in the World Drug-Free Powerlifting, single event championships. He has since won silver in Antwerp 2008 (Squat) (Senior), gold in Antwerp 2008 (Deadlift) (Senior), gold in Bradford 2009 (Deadlift) (Open), bronze in Milton Keynes 2009 (Powerlifting) (Open), gold in Moscow 2010 (Deadlift) (Open), gold in Autun 2012 (Deadlift) (Open), gold in Antwerp 2013 (Deadlift) (Open), gold in Antwerp 2013 (Deadlift) (Masters 1), silver in Dusseldord 2014 (Masters 1), and bronze in Düsseldorf 2014 (Open), Gold in Telford 2015 (Masters 1).
During his career he has won 18 British Championships. The first of these was in 2005, with an additional three in 2008, and then two in 2010, two in 2011, one in 2012, two in 2013, three in 2014, three in 2015 and 1 in 2016. In 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 he was overall Best Lifter at the British Deadlift Championships.
He is a three-time European Champion, winning gold medals in Estonia 2011 (Deadlift) (Open) and in Lausanne 2012 (Deadlift) (Open). In 2011 he won The International Best Lifter title for Deadlift at European Single Event Championships in Voka, Estonia.
Morgan currently holds multiple British and World records in Deadlift within the International All Round Weightlifters Association, which is a strength association for athletes competing in drug-free weightlifting, powerlifting, and Strongman.
Morgan qualified as an international referee in 2009 and has officiated at the WDFPF World Championships in Bradford 2009, Milton Keynes 2009, Moscow 2010 and Glasgow 2011.
Global Powerlifting Committee / GPC-GB (TEAM GB)
In 2016, after taking a break from the sport due to injury and illness, Morgan returned with the Global Powerlifting Committee (GPC) by reaching their qualifying standard to represent Great Britain in the World Championships in Trutnov, Czech Republic 2017.
Since joining GPC, he has taken a Gold Medal in Masters 1 ( World Championships, Trutnov Czech Republic 2017), Gold Medal in Masters 2 (European Championships, Nancy France 2018) and a Gold Medal in Masters 2 (World Championships, Eger, Hungary 2018).
He has also qualified for the second time as an International Category referee in June 2017 with Global Powerlifting Committee.
In 2023 Chris returned to the international platform again taking a Gold Medal in Masters 3 at the European Championships in Glasgow.
Career Record
World Championship Gold Medals 10
European Championship Gold Medals 4
Gay Games Championship Gold Medals 6
British Championship Gold Medals 18
British Championship Best lifter Awards 6
European Championship Best Lifter Awards 1
World Records 3
British Records 4
Gay Games
Morgan competed in several
Gay Games
The Gay Games is a worldwide sport and cultural event that promotes acceptance of sexual diversity, featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) athletes, artists and other individuals.
Founded as the Gay Olympics, it was s ...
, an event mainly for gay sportspeople. He won silver in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
1998, gold in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
2002 four golds in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
2006 and Gold in Cologne 2010. He holds Gay Games records in
squat,
deadlift
The deadlift is a strength training exercise in which a weight-loaded barbell is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, with the torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting ...
and overall poundage in the 75 kilo class and in the 82.5 kilo class he holds records in squat, deadlift and overall poundage.
LGBT Powerlifting Union - LGBT International Powerlifting Championships
Chris Morgan was the Co-President of the LGBT Powerlifting Union between 2017 and 2023 and was the Meet Director for the LGBT International Powerlifting Championships that happened in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022.
In July 2018, Morgan was awarded a Lifetime achievement award by the lifters of LGBT IPC for his service and commitment by the LGBT Powerlifting community.
In May 2023, Morgan moved to the position of Founding President, with the original objectives of the LGBTPU achieved in restoring the sport of Powerlifting back to the Gay Games.
Personal life and activism
Chris Morgan is openly
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...
. He supports a number of charities and sports organizations. In 2004, he became a global ambassador to the
Federation of Gay Games.
Morgan was a member of
the Football Association
The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...
's Advisory Group on
Homophobia
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
from 2004 to 2008
and was sponsored by sportswear manufacturer Umbro between 2004 and 2006.
With Umbro, he was the first person to be permitted by the Football Association to wear the official
England national football team
The England national football team have represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by the Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Eng ...
kit, other than the team itself.
In 2015, he was inducted into the
National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame
In 2013, the LGBTQ Sports Hall of Fame (formerly the National Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame) was established to honor exceptional members of the LGBTQ community who have made significant and lasting contributions to the world of athletics and all ...
.
References
External links
Chris Morgan's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Chris
English gay sportsmen
British powerlifters
Living people
1973 births
LGBTQ powerlifters
21st-century English LGBTQ people