For athletes around the world, one dream has already come true and for a select group of others, an even bigger goal is about to come to fruition.
Just being able to represent your country in an Olympics is a huge accomplishment, but making it to the medal stand is another dream come true that all who dare to dream are hoping becomes their reality in the next two weeks.
The Olympic torch has been carried from Greece to France and will be lit in Paris on Friday to signal the start of the 2024 Olympic Summer Games. And Eau Claire-area residents will be paying close attention to two athletes in particular who hope to bring back gold to the United States when the worldwide event reaches its end on August 11.
Both Mary Theisen-Lappen and Kenny Bednarek have been profiled in recent editions of the Leader-Telegram in the weeks leading up to the start of these Olympic Summer games and after years of hard work and dedication, it’s time for them — and the thousands of others who aspire to the same goals that these local athletes do — to get their moment of glory in the spotlight.
For Eau Claire-area native Theisen-Lappen, the power of the dream is alive and well.
A three-sport athlete for the Regis Ramblers, she eventually became a star thrower, earning All-America honors in shot put at weight throw for Indiana State University. Following her senior season, she finished ninth in the shot put at the 2014 U.S. championships. She parlayed that high school and ISU into even greater glory at Winona State University.
“I graduated from Indiana State in 2014 with a sports management degree. I then got my masters from the University of Missouri. In high school I was a three-time state champion in track and field. In college I was a national champion in the discus at Winona State, as well as a seven-time All-American in the throwing events. My final meet in track was at the 2014 US Championships in Sacramento, California. I then got into coaching,” she explained to the Leader-Telegram in a feature run in late spring.
However, when Theisen-Lappen represents the USA in Paris, it will be in weightlifting, an event she has more than earned her stripes in over the years.
In her world weightlifting championships debut last fall she won the silver medal for total weight at +87 kg. in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She also claimed a silver medal in the clean and jerk. Of note, in the Olympics medals are only awarded for total weight.
She parlayed that success into earning even more hardware and, thus, positioned herself to be named to the U.S. Olympic team.
In her world weightlifting championships debut at the 2023 IWF Grand Prix II in Doha, Qatar, which acted as an Olympic qualifier, Theisen-Lappen won the silver medal for total weight in the +87 kg category and claimed a silver medal with a clean and jerk of 163 kg. With that performance, she had now positioned herself as the most dominant U.S. woman in her category.
Team USA can only send one athlete per weight class to the Olympics, with just six quota spots for three women and three men. Theisen-Lappen held strong through the remaining Olympic qualifiers. It was official at the concluding qualifier in Thailand in April: Theisen-Lappen was among the three women who earned quota spots for Paris 2024.
Describing the intense discipline it takes to train for the sport (or any athletic event for that matter), Theisen-Lappen said it had, indeed, been an arduous, yet rewarding experience for her.
“It takes a very disciplined person to train for any sport, especially if you want to be the best. I have had to sacrifice a lot and live a very thought out life to succeed. Almost everything I do is planned out very far in advance so I can train hard and feel the best I can. I did think there was a chance that when I first started weightlifting that I could represent Team USA. The more I trained and competed, the more I believed it was a possibility,” she said.
Theisen-Lappen will be seen on the Olympic stage when she takes part in the +81kg event on Aug. 11, at 4:30 a.m. local time.
As for Kenny Bednarek, he recently told Travis Nyhus from the Leader-Telegram’s sister publication, the Rice Lake Chronotype, that the journey to his second Summer Olympics would not be the same without the support of people in the area.
More than 4,000 miles separate Paris, the site of the 2024 Olympics, and Rice Lake, where Bednarek got his start on the track. Despite being the top American finisher at the last Olympics in the 200 meters, Bednarek hasn’t got the national attention other sprinters have gotten. Where he’s continued to get support every step of the way though is from his home state and hometown.
“It means the world to have the support back home ever since high school and middle school — it means everything to me,” Bednarek told Nyhus. “I wouldn’t be here without their support. They are the people that helped push me to (be) better every single day on and off the track.”
During his time running track for Rice Lake, Bednarek set five school records for the Warriors. He won seven state titles, and still holds Wisconsin state records for all divisions for the 200- and 400-meters and has the 100 record for Division 2.
In one year at Indian Hills Community College, Bednarek won three NJCAA national championships before becoming a professional. In the six years since high school, he’s burst onto the national scene with world and national medals, including an Olympic silver medal in Tokyo in 2021 for the 200.
This year Bednarek will run the Olympics in both the 100 and 200, as well as the 4x100 relay.
Bednarek’s first appearance on the track in Paris is Aug. 3 for the first round of the 100 which will be run at 4:45 a.m. Rice Lake High School will be hosting watch parties in the auditorium for Bednarek’s semifinal and final races at the Olympics. The 100 semifinals are Aug. 4 at 1 p.m. with the finals at 2:55 p.m. Between the two races the Warriors All Sports Booster will have grilled hot dogs and burgers for sale.
The auditorium will also be open for watch parties Aug. 7 for the 200 semifinals that will be run at 1 p.m., the 200 finals Aug. 8 at 1:30 p.m. and the finals of the 4x100 relay on Aug. 9 at 12:45 p.m.
Look to the Leader-Telegram’s print and online editions for Olympic updates as they happen during the next two weeks. We wish both Theisen-Lappen and Bednarek the best as they go for the gold in Paris. Trust me, there are thousands of fans in this state who will be cheering them on to Olympic success.
High school football season is less than a month away
Area high school football coaches check your email.
With the Olympics beginning, that can only mean that summer break will soon be ending and the high school football season will soon be beginning.
In less than a month, teams from all over the state will take to the gridiron again and Friday nights will focus on high school football and all the excitement and intensity that sport offers. Of note, the Leader-Telegram’s annual high school football preview edition is scheduled for the Aug. 15 print edition. Area coaches should have received their forms via email that will assist me in compiling that special insert. If you’re a coach in the area and you have not received that email from me, please reach out to me at allan.brown@ecpc.com so that I can send you the form.
Travis Nyhus of the Rice Lake Chronotype contributed to the Bednarek story and quotes portion of this column.
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