Athletes Men › Morgan Pearson
Morgan Pearson has had a rollercoaster ride of a career but the hottest property on the triathlon scene is making a huge name for himself. Pearson grew up in Spring Lake, New Jersey, USA, and was a competitive swimmer, an ocean rescue lifeguard and a high school runner. He enjoyed a glittering school running career. He competed at cross-country and on the track at the University of Colorado at Boulder and was a seven-time All-American. His fastest 5k track time in competition was 13:36:22, though he would go on to record a 13:32 in 2016.
After graduating with degrees in maths and economics, Morgan concentrated on running professionally. In 2017 he recorded a blisteringly fast 1500m time of 3:48, but suffered a stress fracture in his foot. As a fledgling pro, it was a hammer blow. Morgan ended up working as a tutor and doing odd jobs around Boulder to try and make money and support his comeback. But while he was recovering, and on a whim, he contacted USA Triathlon’s Collegiate Recruitment Program. To his surprise, they were interested in trying to develop him as a triathlete and sent him a bike.
Morgan recovered from his stress fracture enough to race a first competitive triathlon in 2017 and against all odds won the USA Triathlon Age Group Sprint National Championships, despite not having done any real training in the sport. That earned him a pro card and qualified for the national team in 2018. His ascent to the top of triathlon has been just as turbo charged when compared to most.
Morgan finished seventh in his first ITU World Cup race and by 2019 was not only a World Cup medallist but finished the season as the highest ranked American male. There is little doubt that 2021 was his breakthrough year when it comes to the real big time. He collected bronze at the first WTCS event of the year in Yokohama to secure automatic selection for the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Afterwards, an emotional Morgan dedicated the win to his brother Andrew, who had passed away in March.
Morgan produced another stunning performance and incredible run showing to follow up his Yokohama display with second at WTCS Leeds. In Tokyo, Morgan suffered a disappointing result in the individual event after incurring a 15-second penalty during the race, but bounced back as part of the USA team that secured a silver medal in the Mixed Relay.
After success at the Triathlon World Cup and taking his first victory of the season in the Czech Republic, Pearson now takes on his first Super League Triathlon race in Malibu with the intensity of the Eliminator.
Morgan lives and trains in Boulder, Colorado and is coached by Dean Golich.
Results posted shortly after the race may contain errors.
RR - Race Ready | TBD - To Be Determined | DNS - Did Not Start | DNF - Did Not Finish