Mary Theisen-Lappen

Information accurate as of January 27, 2026

Coached by: Wilson (Wil) Fleming

Hometown: Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Train out of (city and gym): Bloomington, Indiana | 1Kilo

First year of competition: 2018, Team Spartacus Winter Open

Competition Personal records: 120 SN, 164 CJ, 284 T

Education

• Attended Winona State University from 2009-11
• Bachelors in Sport Management from Indiana State University (2014)
• Masters in Education from University of Missouri (2019)
• Threw for Indiana State from 2011-2014, competing in the shot, discus, hammer throw and weight throw
  • Personal records:
  • SP 17.30m/ 56' 9.25"       
  • DT 54.35m/ 178' 4"
  • HT 57.24m/ 187' 9"
  • WT 20.28m/ 66' 6.5"
• Qualified for seven NCAA Championships (3 indoor, 4 outdoor), was a Division II national champion in the discus, and is a nine-time Division II All-American
  • 2014 Outdoor: Shot, 6th place
  • 2014 Indoor: Shot, 4th place
  • 2012 Outdoor: Shot, 20th place
  • 2011 Outdoor: Discus, champion…shot, 10^th place
  • 2011 Indoor: shot, 6th place…weight throw, 6th place
  • 2010 Outdoor: discus, 8th place…Shot, 14^th place
  • 2010 Indoor: Shot, 8th place
  • 2014 MVC Outdoor shot put champion, discus bronze, and hammer bronze
  • 2014 MVC Indoor shot put champion, weight throw runner up

Accolades short list (Titles, American/World Records):

• IWF bio
• Competed at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Finished in fifth place after lifting 119 kg in the snatch and 155 kg in the C&J.
• In July 2024, during training, jerked 188 kg from blocks, 1 kg over the world record
• Entered the sport in 2018 after her collegiate throwing career as a full-time coach at Division III University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
• Holds four American senior records
• Has two Pan American Championships gold medals (2021, 2023) and one silver (2025)
• 2023 Pan American Games gold medalist
• Earned silver and bronze at the 2023 and 2025 IWF World Championships, respectively
• During Olympic qualifying, jumped three-time Olympian Sarah Robles as the top U.S. super heavyweight at the 2023 IWF Grand Prix II in Doha with a 283 kg total. Robles publicly announced her withdrawal from Olympic qualifying on February 24.

Features:

• Mary Theisen-Lappen places fifth in weightlifting in Olympics debut
• Regis Alum Mary Theisen-Lappen 5th at Paris Olympics
• Theisen-Lappen finishes fifth in her first Olympics
• Paris Olympics | Bloomington resident Mary Theisen-Lappen places fifth in weightlifting
• USA Weightlifter Mary Theisen-Lappen finishes 5th in Paris Olympics 2024
• Has been one of the primary subjects in Jessie Johnson’s Final Attempt documentary
• U.S. Olympic weightlifting team could be best in 64 years
• THROWER TURNED WEIGHTLIFTER MARY THEISEN-LAPPEN MUST LIFT BIG, OR STAY HOME
• MEET MARY THEISEN-LAPPEN: THE TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETE TURNED WEIGHTLIFTER SHARING A MESSAGE OF BODY POSITIVITY