A latecomer to the world of triathlon, this world champs and Olympic medallist has been playing an impressive game of catch-up ever since. Here's US triathlete Morgan Pearson's career to date…
Who is Morgan Pearson?
Born in Washington DC and raised in New Jersey, Morgan Pearson was a star athlete in college, a seven-time All-American in cross-country and on the track.
In 2017, trying his hand at triathlon, he was victorious as an age-group athlete at USA Triathlon’s national championships and turned pro at the start of the following season.
His transition to multisport was definitely the correct one to make. Despite being 24 and competing against those who’d risen through the junior and U23 ranks, Morgan quickly found his feet, securing podium positions and the odd victory in that productive first season, which ended with mixed relay gold at the American championships.
In the years since, Morgan has proved himself to be a strong competitor in both World Cup and WTCS competition; in the latter, he’s graced the podiums in Yokohama, Leeds and Abu Dhabi, in the process becoming the first male American athlete to win more than one medal in the series.
He’s also taken home the spoils at major championships, making the anchor berth in the USA mixed relay squad his own and leading them to silvers at both the world champs and the Olympics.
Now in his 30s, there is still plenty of time for Morgan Pearson to make an even stronger impression within the men’s elite ranks, whether in the WTCS series or claiming a second Olympic medal this summer in Paris.
What is certain, though, is that he has more than made up for lost time during his six short years in the sport.
How old is Morgan Pearson?
Morgan Pearson was born on 22 September 1993, making him 30 years of age.
Morgan Pearson’s career highlights
March 2018: First top 10 as a pro
Having won USA Triathlon’s age-group sprint national championships the previous year, Morgan kicks off his pro career in impressive style, coming home seventh in a World Cup race in Mooloolaba in Queensland, his first-ever race among the elite. Among those trailing behind is Commonwealth Games medallist Ryan Bailie.
May 2018: A strong WTS debut
A week after a second World Cup top-10 finish (this time in Chengdu), Morgan travels east to Japan to make his World Triathlon Series debut, scoring a very creditable 14th place in Yokohama in what is his first Olympic-distance race as a pro.
June 2018: A maiden professional medal
Morgan doesn’t have to wait long for his first appearance on an elite podium. In a European Cup sprint race in the Belgian town of Wuustwezel, he takes a confident silver.
August 2018: A first victory as a pro
A busy, globe-trotting timetable of races in his rookie season yields the brightest-shining fruit when Morgan breaks the tape at an American Cup sprint event in Montreal. The former All-American track runner posts what is comfortably the fastest run split of the day.
October 2018: Golden team, golden boy
After finishing fourth in a men’s World Cup race the day before in Sarasota in Florida, Morgan returns to the course as part of the victorious USA team that takes the glory in the mixed relay at the American championships, where they beat Canada by five seconds.
June 2019: World Cup silver in Mexico
Morgan ventures south of the border for a World Cup race in the Mexican resort of Huatulco where he scores an assured silver.
July 2019: Maiden appearance in a WTS top 10
Morgan posts his best WTS performance to date when he takes sixth place in Edmonton, with world champ-in-waiting Vincent Luis only one place in front of him.
It’s a good weekend in Canada for the American. He’s part of the US mixed relay team that takes bronze the following day.
November 2019: Two more World Cup top fives
Morgan’s strong pedigree in World Cup competition is solidified even further with fifth in the Peruvian capital of Lima and third in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
September 2020: A double Hamburger
In the German port city, Morgan secures another WTS top-10 finish in the men’s one-race world champs, beating the likes of Alistair Brownlee, Gustav Iden and Kristian Blummenfelt.
The next day is even better. He becomes a world champs silver medallist when he anchors the USA quartet to a highly impressive second in the mixed relay, beating the much-fancied British squad.
May 2021: First WTCS podium
Morgan truly announces himself as a contender in the men’s ranks when he takes third place in the WTCS race in Yokohama, ahead of A-graders like Alex Yee, and the French trio of Vincent Luis, Léo Bergere and Dorian Coninx. The result secures the American’s qualification for this summer’s Tokyo Olympics.
June 2021: Upgrading bronze for silver
Twenty-two days after that Yokohama bronze, Morgan improves his best WTCS performance when he takes a comfortable silver in Leeds. It makes him the first American man to be in possession of more than one medal in the series.
July 2021: Mixed blessings in Japan
Coming into the Covid-delayed Tokyo Olympics as the leading US man, the men’s race does not do at all well for Morgan. He finishes 42nd after picking up a 15sec penalty and describes the result as “embarrassing”.
But what a difference five days makes. In the first-ever running of the mixed relay at the Games, the former college track star becomes an Olympic medallist when he brings home the USA squad for a magnificent silver ahead of the mighty French quartet.
November 2022: Another WTCS silver
In the Abu Dhabi Grand Final, Morgan reappears on the podium as he posts the fastest run split to overpower Belgium’s Jelle Geens to take silver.
It’s a strong return to the series for him after an injury-hit six months, with the likes of Alex Yee, Hayden Wilde, Vincent Luis and Kristian Blummenfelt trailing in his wake.
September 2023: Glory and despair go hand-in-hand
After taking a solid sixth place at Olympic test event in Paris the previous month to secure his Olympic berth in 2024, Morgan triumphs at a World Cup race in Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic.
However, two weeks later – and in an example of how his results can greatly fluctuate – the day after he enters his 30s, Morgan can only finish in 55th place at the WTCS Finals in Pontevedra in Spain.
Morgan Pearson in quotes
On qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics after taking WTCS bronze in Yokohama: “It’s the feeling you get when you studied really hard for a test and get an A. To me, it wasn’t a huge surprise I qualified. It’s the accomplishment of putting it together on race day.”
On the challenge of becoming a pro triathlete at the age of 24: “The main factor is that they’ve been triathlon guys for most of their life. I started my first pro season in 2018. The French guys have so much more experience. They’re so crisp in their execution. They barely make mistakes.”
On the prospect of another Olympic medal in Paris this summer: “I know I’m not a favourite. When I think back to Tokyo, I wouldn’t say I didn’t have confidence, but it was different. Now I know it’s really in there somewhere.”
What’s next for Morgan Pearson?
There are surely two goals for Morgan in 2024. One is making a deeper impression on the WTCS circuit, ideally taking a maiden victory in the series.
The other is, of course, the Paris Olympics, where he’ll be looking to add another Olympic medal to the silver he won as part of the USA mixed relay squad three years ago in Tokyo.
Whether individual success will come his way in the form of a podium place is open for debate. On his day, Morgan has the capability of taking on all and any of his rivals.
Top image credit: Wagner Araujo (@wags.photo)/World Triathlon
