PARIS – Former Indiana State standout thrower Mary Theisen-Lappen made her Olympics debut Sunday morning, finishing fifth in the +81kg division of weightlifting inside the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles.
 
Theisen-Lappen had successful lifts of 115kg (253.5 pounds) and 119kg (262.4 pounds) in the snatch, while posting a successful lift of 155kg (341.7 pounds) in the clean and jerk. Her combined total of 274kg (604.1 pounds) placed her fifth in the field. Had she successfully completed her third attempt in the clean and jerk, Theisen-Lappen would have finished fourth.
 
Theisen-Lappen's result is the first-ever top-five finish for a Sycamore Track and Field alum in the Olympics and highlights her rise in the weightlifting ranks. She placed in the top five despite not starting weightlifting competitively until 2020. Even though she has less than five years of competitive experience in weightlifting, Theisen-Lappen won gold at the 2023 Pan-American games and 2023 IWF Grand Prix II and silver at the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships. Theisen-Lappen earned the US Olympic Team's spot in the division by placing first among all American athletes during the Olympic qualifying season, defeating a two-time Olympic medalist in the process.
 
The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris marked the first time in program history that the Sycamores had multiple former track and field student-athletes competing in the same games. Theisen-Lappen was the third current or former Sycamore student-athlete to make her Olympic debut in Paris, as fellow former track and field standout Erin Reese finished 14th of 30 in the hammer throw and swimmer Chloe Farro placed 32nd out of 79 in the 50-meter freestyle prelims. Former standout sprinter Noah Malone will represent the Sycamores at the Paralympic Games later in August.
 
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