Chris Morgan is a world champion rower

Rowing (sport)

Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...

 from Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

, South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

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Morgan began his athletic career as a competitive walker, however he took up rowing after taking part in a rowing machine (ergo) competition held by the Adelaide University Boat Club

Adelaide University Boat Club

The Adelaide University Boat Club is a rowing club affiliated with the University of Adelaide. The club was founded in 1881, and in 1896 helped to form the Adelaide University Sports Association. The main clubrooms, donated by Robert Barr Smith in 1909, are located on the north bank of the River...

 during the University of Adelaide

University of Adelaide

The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...

 Orientation Week

Orientation week

Student orientation or new student orientation, is a period of time at the beginning of the academic year at a university or other tertiary institution during which a variety of events are held to orient and welcome new students. The name of the period varies by country...

. After winning the competition with the fastest time, Morgan was asked to join the Boat Club and joined the "Learn to Row" program, shortly before beginning his competitive rowing career.

During Morgan's first season of rowing in 2003/04, Morgan won a gold medal in the World University Games, and was later selected for the Australian rowing team in 2005, training with the Australian Institute of Sport

Australian Institute of Sport

The Australian Institute of Sport is a sports training institution in Australia with world class facilities and support services. The Institute's headquarters is situated in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The 66.0 hectare site campus is in the northern suburb of Bruce, but some of the...

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Morgan competed in the Men's Quadruple Scull event for the Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n Olympic team at the Beijing 2008

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

 Olympics. His crew won the heat in a world's best time of 5:36.20, beating the previous fastest time, set by Poland, by a second. The Australians finished fourth in the final.

In 2010, Morgan won the Australian National Single Scull Championship, becoming the first South Australian to do so in 40 years. In November, he won the World Championship coxed pair with pair partner Dominic Grimm

Dominic Grimm

Dominic Grimm is an Australian rower.- References :...

 and coxswain David Webster

David Webster (rower)

David Webster is an Australian rowing cox.- External links :...

 at Lake Karapiro

Lake Karapiro

Lake Karapiro is an artificial reservoir lake on the Waikato River in the North Island of New Zealand. The lake, near Cambridge and some south-east of the city of Hamilton, was created in 1947 to store water for the Karapiro Power Station, the last of the eight hydroelectric power stations on the...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

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In an upset win, Morgan rowing in the Australian heavy weight men's quad scull defeated the German crew to win gold at the 2011 World Rowing Championships. Due to a costly mistake in the German boat the Australian crew took the lead in the last few metres of the race to take out first place.