CentraCare’s Sports Medicine Physician Cheering on Son During Olympic Swim Trials
The CentraCare community will have a special reason to watch the United States Olympic Trials this weekend!
CentraCare’s George Morris, MD, has a son who qualified for the Olympic swimming trials in Indianapolis, Ind., with his first event on Father’s Day.
Christopher Morris has qualified in the 100 Freestyle and 200 Freestyle events. It’s tough competition with only 26 men and 26 women selected to represent the USA Olympic Swim Team.
This is the first year the swimmers will compete at Lucas Oil Stadium with a crowd close to what NFL teams see.
He’ll swim in preliminary heats and if he moves on, he’ll compete in the semi-finals followed by finals with a chance to make the US Olympic team and swim in Paris, the site of the 2024 Olympic Games.
“Christopher has been swimming since he was about 12,” said Dr. Morris. “He’s a good swimmer and naturally talented. He’s played almost every sport, but swimming seemed his natural fit.”
It seems appropriate that the swimming trials fall during Father’s Day weekend as Dr. Morris has a special connection to the Olympics.
“I’m a sports medicine physician and started working with elite athletes a long time ago, covering various events from professional baseball to WWE Wrestling and International events,” he detailed. “I connected with the U.S. Olympic Ski and Snowboard team in 2004 working with their athletes to ensure everybody stays as healthy as possible while they’re at a competition.”
That experience has given him an insider’s perspective on what it takes to compete at that level.
“Understanding what it takes physically, mentally, and emotionally to do what they do is something I’ve been helping other athletes with for 20-plus years. Now, it’s really exciting to see Chris do this, and I get to enjoy this as a father. I don’t have to be the doctor.”
The Olympic swimming hopeful is a senior swimmer for the University of Wisconsin at Madison, setting state and school records. He is a Big 10 Champion and CSC Academic All-District swimmer.
Dr. Morris, his wife, and four daughters plan to be in the crowd cheering for Christopher in Indianapolis.
“This is Father’s Day weekend. It’s important to realize how a lot of this starts within families and we need to be able to support our children … whether it’s a father figure or family member.”
The Olympic Swimming Trials start Saturday and run through June 23. You can watch all the swimming sessions on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com and NBC Sports app. NBC will also feature live coverage during the evening sessions at 7 p.m. each night.