Chris Morgan (born 15 December 1982[1]) is an Australian former representative
rower. He was a national champion, two-time world champion,[2] three time Olympian and Olympic medal winner from
Adelaide,
South Australia. He won world championships in both sculls and in sweep-oared boat classes.
Education
Raised in Adelaide, Morgan attended Burnside Primary and
Norwood Morialta High School. He had no exposure to rowing before university. He has a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Computer Science from the
University of Adelaide and works as a software engineer.
Morgan began his athletic career as a competitive
walker. He took up rowing in 2003 after participating in an
ergometer competition held by the
Adelaide University Boat Club during the
University'sOrientation Week. He held the fastest time on the competition until a rower from the Boat Club competed at the last moment in order to claim the case of beer that was offered as a prize. As a result of entering the competition, Chris was invited to join the Boat Club. He undertook a "Learn to Row" program and that same season was competing for Adelaide University in senior boats.[3][4]
Morgan was diagnosed with high functioning autism at age 28. He has reported that his communication style and obsession with performance improvement made it hard for him to be understood and accepted in the team environment of a rowing squad.[5]
Club and state rowing
At the end of Morgan's first season of rowing in 2003–04, he won a gold medal in a
double scull at the World University Games in
Brive-la-Gaillarde, France. He was selected for the Australian rowing squad in 2005 and invited to train with the
Australian Institute of Sport.
In 2010, Morgan won the Australian national single scull championship,[6] becoming the first South Australian to do so in 40 years.[7]
Morgan has consistently represented for his state at the Interstate Regatta within the
Australian Rowing Championships. In the twelve-year period 2005 to 2016 he raced for South Australia on nine occasions in King's Cup eights and on eight occasions he sculled in the President's Cup. He rowed in both boats at five championships.
After London Olympics[8] Morgan relocated to Sydney and continued his club rowing from the
Sydney Rowing Club.
International rowing career
Morgan represented Australia in the men's
quad scull at the
Beijing 2008 Olympics. His crew won their heat in a world's best time of 5:36.20,[4][9][10][11] beating the previous fastest time, set by Poland, by a second. The Australians finished fourth in the final.[12] That time of 5:36.20 stood as the Olympic best time until the
2020 Tokyo Olympics.[13]
At the
2011 World Rowing Championships in an upset, Morgan rowing in the Australian men's
quad defeated the German crew to take gold. Following a costly mistake in the German boat, the Australian crew took the lead in the final metres and won the race by 0.25secs.[14]
In 2016 Morgan qualified with West Australian
David Watts to contest the men's
double scull at the
2016 Rio Olympics. They were out-raced in the semi-finals and won the B final for an overall seventh placing.
[16]