Sport: Triathlon
Born: September 22, 1993
Town: New Vernon, New Jersey
Morgan Caldwell Pearson was born September 22, 1993 in Spring Lake, NJ. He and his three brothers grew up in the Morris County town of New Vernon. The son of a pharmaceutical executive, Morgan showed early promise as an athlete competing at the Berkeley Aquatic Club and later followed in the footsteps of his brother, Andrew, as a cross-country runner.
Morgan distinguished himself as an elite-level athlete at the Delbarton School. He played basketball and continued to develop as a swimmer, and also became a champion distance runner. As a senior, he won the 3,000 meters at the Penn Relays and also won the 3,200 meters at the NJSIAA Mett of Champions. Morgan enrolled at Duke, the alma mater of both his parents, but soon transferred to the University of Colorado in order to train under coach Mark Wetmore, who coached track at Bernards High School and Seton Hall for nearly two decades.
Morgan became a key member of the Buffaloes cross-country team, which won two NCAA titles while he was in Boulder. He was named an All-American seven times during his collegiate career. His swimming pedigree brought him to the attention of USA Triathlon in 2017 and he joined Dean Golich’s program after graduation and quickly amped up his cycling skills. As a “rookie” in 2017 he competed in and won his first national-level event, the Age-Group Sprint in Omaha.
In 2021, Morgan finished third at the World Triathlon Championship Series event in Yokohama and logged a second place finish in the race at Leeds. Because the pandemic moved the 2020 Olympics to 2021, that qualified Morgan to compete in the men’s triathlon and mixed relay competitions that summer in Tokyo. Morgan finished 42nd in the men’s event but was part of the silver medal-winning mixed team that included Kevin McDowell, Taylot Knibb and Katie Zaferes. They finished 14 seconds behind the British team.
Morgan was back three years later, representing Team USA along with Knibb in Paris at the 2024 Olympics.