Alexis Lagan also known as Lexi Lagan, 31, is an American Olympic Pistol Shooter. She has been shooting for about six years. During her career, She won three Continental titles, several NRA National Titles, four USA National Titles, a National Record, a National Record during her career, and her most recent Paris Olympic 2024 quota.
Lexi Lagan Early years in Nevada
Alexis “Lexi” Lagan was born on January 25, 1993, in Boulder City, Nevada to parents Barry and Jill Lagan. She has a younger sister named Abbi Lagan. Her father, grandfather, and uncle work in law enforcement, while her maternal grandfather served in the military. Having grown up in a family familiar with firearms, Lexi was raised around guns from a young age.
Lexi received her first rifle, a .22 LR, from her father Barry as an 8th birthday gift. She treasured that gun and frequently asked to see it when her father opened his safe to access his firearm collection.
As Lexi progressed in the sport, her parents Barry and Jill provided essential financial support, as sponsorships are uncommon in shooting sports.
While following a bachelor’s degree in pre-law physics at the University of Utah, Lexi began shooting pistols competitively. She joined the university’s pistol team and competed in intercollegiate matches, quickly finding success by winning several national titles in women’s and mixed-team events. Her skills earned her a place on multiple All-American teams as well.
Lexi Lagan married to her husband Jacob Peterson
Alexis “Lexi” Lagan married Jacob Peterson on January 14th, 2019. They recently celebrated their 5th wedding anniversary. Jacob works as a pastor at The Ramp church in Hamilton, Alabama alongside founder Karen Wheaton. His duties include leading the local Ramp congregation, speaking at conferences and events, and teaching classes at the Ramp School of Ministry.
The couple lives in Alabama and with three girls – Rhys, Piper, and Olive. Lexi sometimes shares family photos on her social media accounts, capturing sweet moments with her girls. A recent post showed the sisters smiling together, with the caption noting she “spent all weekend watching the girls compete in tennis.”
As the photos indicate, Lexi seems to on balancing her professional shooting career with quality time as a wife. Her husband Jacob’s support also likely provides stability for the family as Lexi travels to competitions and trains for her sport.
Lexi Lagan Secures Olympic Quota After Podium Finishes at Pan American Games
Alexis “Lexi” Lagan won a bronze and silver medal at the 2023 Pan American Games held in Santiago, Chile last October. On October 24th, she won bronze in the Women’s 25m Pistol event. Two days later, she secured silver in the highly competitive Women’s 10m Air Pistol competition.
Lagan’s final score of 231.5 points earned her second place, finishing just behind gold medalist Alejandra Zavala of Mexico. In addition to winning hardware, Lagan’s impressive performance secured an Olympic quota spot for the United States for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.
“It feels awesome,” “I am doing my job. This is what I came out here to do. I wanted to secure the air pistol quota specifically and I got it.
said Lagan after qualifying for the 2024 Olympics.
While the Paris Olympics qualification marks a career highlight, this is not Lagan’s first experience on the Olympic stage. The multi-time national champion competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, finishing top 20 in both the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team and 25m Pistol events.
Lexi Lagan’s Shooting Career so far
Shooting sports were not always Lexi Lagan’s passion. As a youth, she demonstrated talents in singing and dance as well. Her singing skills were so impressive that at age 14, she was awarded a medal and certificate from the White House for her vocal abilities.
Lexi’s first experience handling firearms came at age 15 when she would accompany her father to the shooting range.
Also Read: Paris Olympics 2024 (Team USA Shooting): Meet Sagen Maddalena
Upon joining the pistol team at the University of Utah, Lexi began entering tournaments for amateur shooters. She started with air gun events, which use lower caliber or compressed air firearms. She demonstrated a natural shooting skill by besting all of her male friends during a rifle competition, with one unfortunate opponent leaving in tears after losing to her.
Lexi’s skills continued sharpening through these formative matches. By 2016 she reached an elite level, claiming a gold medal at the U.S. national air pistol championships. The next year she again at nationals, earning silver in air pistol and a gold in sports pistol shooting.
Her Professional Career
Alexis “Lexi” Lagan achieved her first major victory in 2018 by earning gold in sport pistol and silver in air pistol at the Championship of the Americas tournament. Her runner-up air pistol result included an exciting duel with eventual gold winner Diana Durango of Ecuador. More importantly, the outstanding finish secured Lagan an Olympic quota spot for the 2020 Tokyo Games.
With expectations after her Championship of the Americas breakthrough, Lagan qualified for three events at her first Olympics in Tokyo. She gained experience by finishing 16th in the 10m air pistol mixed team competition, 18th in the 25m pistol contest, and 38th among individuals in the 10m air pistol.
In events after the 2020 Olympics, Lagan continued her momentum with more results. At the 2021 ISSF Shooting World Cup in New Delhi, she placed 6th in sport pistol. On the domestic front, Lagan captured gold in 25m rapid-fire pistol and 10m air pistol at the 2022 U.S. National Pistol Championships. She added to her haul with silver and gold medals in air pistol and air pistol team events at the 2022 Championships of the Americas tournament.
Her results at the 2023 Pan American Games included bronze in women’s sport pistol and silver in women’s 10m air pistol -securing a 2024 Paris Olympics quota along the way. If she maintains this intense step, Lagan figures to compete for a spot next summer in Paris.
