Theisen-Lappen Ready to Fulfill Olympic Dream
Mary Theisen-Lappen is representing Team USA in the Olympic Games. It’s a phrase that the athlete has dreamed of hearing for years, and a dream that may have been left unrealized if not for a constant belief in herself. The nine-time track & field All-American found weightlifting at the age of 27, and what she has done throughout the past six years will inspire anyone tuning into Paris 2024.
In 2014, Theisen-Lappen graduated from Indiana State University as a nine-time Division II All-American and a Division II national champion in discus. She had Olympic aspirations, but she finished ninth in the shot put at the U.S. Championships that year. After 12 years in the sport, Theisen-Lappen decided that she had thrown as far as her body would let her, and transitioned her passion to coaching. In early 2018, she entered her first weightlifting competition. She was able to start training full time when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and found her current coach, Wil Fleming, through Instagram. Fleming was also a collegiate thrower, and she saw the professionalism and coaching nature that she wanted in him.
“Being super patient and finding somebody that's a good coach are two things that you need to do,” Theisen-Lappen stated on having a smooth transition into weightlifting. She seemed to choose correctly, as she took gold at the 2021 Pan American Championships just three years after her first competition. She followed that competition by setting the American senior clean & jerk record at +87 kg (163 kg) in March 2022 and earning silver at the 2023 World Championships. With the Olympics now a strong possibility, Theisen-Lappen had to beat the total of a lifter that she looked up to even in her track & field days, Sarah Robles.
“She'll probably go down as one of the best lifters we've ever seen in the U.S., so that's an intimidating person to know that you have to beat out to make the team,” Theisen-Lappen said. “But, I figured if there's a chance that I can beat her total, then there's a pretty good chance that I can make the team myself.”
At the 2023 IWF Grand Prix II, Theisen-Lappen jumped Robles’ total by one kilogram. Robles eventually withdrew from qualifying in February 2024, and Theisen-Lappen was officially announced to Team USA’s Olympic team in May. It had been ten years since she placed ninth at the U.S. championships in shot put, but the 33-year-old never gave up hope after her track & field career ended.
“Weightlifting is a great second sport for people,” Fleming said while speaking on how often athletes find success in weightlifting after a career in other sports. “It allows opportunities, and if you're good enough, you might even make the Olympic team.”
As a super heavyweight, Theisen-Lappen is embracing her position. She’s realized that her platform may be about more than just how much she can lift. As a kid, she remembers always wanting to be small, and not having a role model to give her confidence in the way she was built. Now, she wants to be that role model for girls and boys that see her doing incredible things on an international stage.
“Everyone looked the same. Everyone looked skinny and everyone wanted to be skinny,” Theisen-Lappen remembered about her struggles with body positivity as a kid. “You can't lift a ton of weights if you're skinny.”
Her coach loves that she isn’t downplaying her position as one of the best in the world.
“She's accepting it and willing to do cool things like speak at our local boys and girls club to a group of young women and go to elementary schools and talk and be a great role model,” Fleming said about her growth in the area. “Being able to talk about that stuff has been a growing point where Mary's gained some confidence in herself and the ability in speaking about gaining confidence as well.”
Fleming also knows Theisen-Lappen as a fierce competitor. Throughout the qualification period, there were several weights loaded in front of her that she knew she needed to lift to medal at the World Championships, to win the Pan American Games, or to make the Olympic team.
“Every time we loaded that weight in those scenarios on the bar, she made it.” Fleming said, praising Theisen-Lappen’s ability to perform when the pressure is on. The mental side of the sport is something that they’ve taken seriously throughout the qualification process, and a side of Theisen-Lappen that has improved immensely. Weekly visits with a sports psychologist have helped her find confidence and grow in areas of mental preparation such as visualization and breath work. Fleming doesn’t discount the impact that he can have on calming an athlete during a meet too.
“I personally think that one of my biggest roles is that I can help my athlete on the day of competition,” he said. “I remind them of how to center themselves and how to come back from failure, because most meets will have a missed lift.”
After all the work that they’ve put in throughout this quad, Fleming and Theisen-Lappen aren’t content to end this long journey to Paris without adding some hardware to their luggage.
“When we first started working together, the goal was not necessarily just to make the Olympic team. It was to make the Olympic team and try to medal,” Fleming said about their expectations for Paris. “Mary's best performance of the whole quad is what we're shooting for at the Olympic Games.”
