Morgan Hamm

Morgan Carl Hamm (born September 24, 1982, in Washburn, Wisconsin) is an American retired artistic gymnast and former member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team. He is an Olympic silver medalist in the team competition at the 2004 Olympics and a two-time Olympian (2000, 2004). He was a member of the silver medal-winning team at the 2003 World Championships. Hamm was named to the 2008 Olympic team but withdrew from it due to injury.

Early life Hamm was born September 24, 1982, in Washburn, Wisconsin, to Sandy and Cecily Hamm. His twin brother, Paul Hamm, is the 2004 Olympic All-Around Champion. His older sister, Elizabeth (Betsy), is a former member of the USA Gymnastics Senior National Team. He was raised in Waukesha, Wisconsin and attended Waukesha South High School.

Gymnastics career Hamm competed at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney at age 17, and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, alongside his twin brother Paul. At the 2004 Olympics, he won the silver medal with the U.S. team in the team competition. Morgan's contribution to this medal-winning performance was vital as he performed on four of the six apparatus and was the highest scorer for the team on the vault and horizontal bar. He also competed in the floor and horizontal bar finals and only a tie-breaker kept him from winning the bronze medal in the latter event. Morgan was also a member of the U.S. team at the 2003 World Championships that won a silver medal in the team competition.

In February 2007, Hamm announced that he would return to competitive gymnastics. He competed at the 2007 Visa National Championships, on floor and pommel horse. He competed at the 2008 National Championships and the 2008 Olympic Trials. He was warned by the United States Anti-Doping Agency in July for testing positive for glucocorticosteroid, which is not performance-enhancing or banned but only allowed if proper paperwork is filed to document that the drug is used for therapeutic reasons. Hamm received the substance through an anti-inflammatory shot to his injured ankle but failed to file the paperwork and his results at the May 24 National Championships were thrown out. Hamm claimed that he had a legitimate medical need for the drug. He was ultimately selected for the 2008 Olympic team. However, Hamm withdrew from the Olympics on August 7, 2008, due to an ankle injury. Alexander Artemev replaced him on the team.

Airflare Morgan Hamm was the first person to officially introduce the B-Boy maneuver Airflare to gymnastics.

Personal life Morgan Hamm also competed alongside his brother, Paul Hamm, in the two 2005 Sasuke competitions (#14, #15,). In the 14th competition, he timed out before he attempted the "Rope Climb" in the First Stage. In the 15th competition, he made it to the third stage and ultimately failed on the "Curtain Cling" obstacle. Unlike his brother, he did not compete in the 16th competition.

In 2010, Hamm enrolled at Concordia University Wisconsin to study pharmacology. In 2014, he completed his studies and earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree. He worked as a pharmacist in Milwaukee.

Competitive history 2008 season Year Competition Description Location Apparatus Rank-Final Score-Final Rank-Qualifying Score-Qualifying 2008 U.S. Championships Houston Floor Exercise 1 Vault 3 (tie) Horizontal bar 3 Pommel horse 8

2007 season Year Competition Description Location Apparatus Rank-Final Score-Final Rank-Qualifying Score-Qualifying 2007 U.S. Championships San Jose Pommel horse 9 (tie)

2004 season

2003 season Year Competition Description Location Apparatus Rank-Final Score-Final Rank-Qualifying Score-Qualifying 2003 World Championships Anaheim Team 2 171.121 1 227.743 U.S. Championships Milwaukee Floor Exercise 1 All-Around 4

2002 season Year Competition Description Location Apparatus Rank-Final Score-Final Rank-Qualifying Score-Qualifying 2002 U.S. Championships Cleveland Floor Exercise 1 All-Around 4

2001 season Year Competition Description Location Apparatus Rank-Final Score-Final Rank-Qualifying Score-Qualifying 2001 World Championships Ghent Team 2 166.845 2 221.420

2000 season Year Competition Description Location Apparatus Rank-Final Score-Final Rank-Qualifying Score-Qualifying 2000 Olympic Games Sydney Floor Exercise 7 9.262 7 9.612Team 5 228.983 4 229.208