The Morgans had two sons, Marty, 26, and Gordy, 29, competing for the right to advance to the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
"I'm so glad to live in Minnesota after being in California for the Olympic trials," Jim said. The temperature while they were in California was 105 degrees.
"We had a good time, it was hot but the flowers were gorgeous," Olive said. They spent 12 days in California between watching the Olympic trials and visiting with their daughter in Davis, Calif.
The Morgans had a regular cheering section at the Olympic trials. There were 47 relatives cheering Marty and Gordy on. "We were a vocal group sporting Morgan brother T-shirts," Jim said.
Gordy wrestled five individuals to qualify for the Olympics. Gordy accomplished his life's dream by qualifying for the Olympics at 180 pounds. Marty was not as successful, losing in overtime of his final match to Dan Henderson in the middleweight class at 163 pounds.
The Morgans raised 12 children in Bloomington where both Jim and Olive worked for the school district. They bought a lot and trailer on Rice Lake 17 years ago. Now retired, they have a home on the Cyrilla Beach peninsula.
Their sons have thrived in wrestling and boxing. Their son, John, was a state champion in 1981, Gordy in 1985, and Marty in 1986. The wrestling trio has three older brothers who were professional boxers. John and Danny were Midwest Golden Gloves runners- up. Danny fought pro in St. Paul for a while. "When he came home, he used his brothers as sparing partners," Olive said.
John was at the trials helping coach Marty and Gordy in the Olympic trials. He is presently employed with Target. John earned a seventh place finish in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul Korea.
The Morgans are in the record books for having three brothers compete on the U.S. National Team. If Marty would have qualified for the Olympics, it would have been the first time three brothers had competed in the Olympics.
Gordy will wrestle in the Olympics on July 22 and 23. "He will probably need to wrestle six or seven times in the two-day tourney to reach the gold medal bracket," Jim said.
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