Carly Rae Patterson was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on February 4, 1988. She is the oldest child to Ricky and Natalie. She has one sister, Jordan. Carly began gymnastics in 1994 at Elite Gymnastics in Louisiana. In 1999, she switched to Brown's Gymnastics in Houston, Texas. Carly made her final move in 2001 to WOGA in Plano.

She competed for Elite Gymnastics from level four until level ten. She was a National TOP Team member n 1996 and 1997. She competed level eight in 1998. Carly won the all-around state title. At Regionals, she finished second all-around. She moved up to level nine in 1998. She won states again. By the springtime, she was competed as a level ten. She qualified for the JO National Championships. In 1999, Carly won the level ten all-around state title. At Regionals, she finished second all-around. Carly was also first on vault and beam. She competed at the JO National Championships. Carly won floor!

Although Carly only competed in four competitions in 2000, she made a name for herself. This was her first year as a junior international elite. At her first elite meet, the American Classic, Carly finished within the top fifteen all-around! At the US Classic, she finished first on beam and third all-around. After a fall on the first day at Nationals, Carly rallied on the second day to fourth place all-around. On the individual events, she finished second on beam and fourth on floor. Carly was selected for the Top Gym Tournament in the fall. She finished second all-around and third on beam. Carly competed with some of the gymnasts she would battle head on in future meets such as Anna Pavlova and Irina Yarotskaya.

2001 was a very important year for Carly. She debuted her new double arabian beam dismount. She also competed at several international meets. She started her season by placing second all-around at the WOGA Classic to WOGA teammate, Kaitlin White. At the Go For It Classic in Las Vegas, Carly finished third all-around and first on floor. She was selected to represent the United States at the American Team Cup. She won the all-around and balance beam title. Carly had a few months before the US Classic in July. She debuted a new floor routine. Carly won her first elite all-around title! Besides the all-around title, Carly won beam and floor.

At Nationals, she was 12th after day one due to two falls on floor. Carly had a great second day to move up to third place all-around behind WOGA teammate Hollie Vise. After Nationals, she travelled down under for the Goodwill Games. Carly fell in the beam event finals. She was set to win the all-around title before falling three times on floor. Before coming home, she won the all-around title at the Puli Cup in China.

Her final year as a junior was in 2002. She started her season by winning vault, beam and the all-around title at the WOGA Classic. She finished first on vault and bars at the Pikes Peak Cup. Carly travelled to Canada for two international competitions. At the first one, the Gymnix International, she finished first all-around and first on vault. She did even better at the Jurassic Classic. Carly took home first on vault, beam, floor and in the all-around! Her next meet was the American Classic. She finished second all-around, first on floor and first on vault! She then went back to Canada for the Pacific Alliance Championships. Carly placed first on vault, beam and floor. She was second in the all-around.

After a few months off, she competed at the US Classic. Carly finished first all-around! At the US National Championships, Carly won her first national all-around title! Shortly after, she competed at the USA vs. the World. This was a fun competition. At the USA vs. Mexico she finished first all-around. She then won the Brazilian International Gym Tournament. Carly also won beam and floor!

2003 was her first year as a senior international elite. She started the season by winning vault, bars, beam and the all-around title at the WOGA Classic. She then won bars, beam, floor and all-around gold at the Parkette Invitational. Carly made her big debut at the Visa American Cup. She took home first in the all-around! Carly followed this up by winning the Pacific Challenge.

She had a few months off before the summer. She debuted a new floor routine at the Hall of Fame Classic. A few weeks before Nationals, disaster struck. Carly had a broken elbow. She was able to be back for the World Championships. Carly placed second all-around! She also helped the USA to their first ever world team gold.

The Olympic Games were in 2004. This was her defining year. She started the season by winning floor at the WOGA Classic. Still coming back from her elbow injury, she aimed to peak at the American Cup. Carly did just that. She swept the gold medals at the American Cup. At the Pacific Alliance Championships, Carly won the beam and floor gold. A muscled kip on bars dropped her to the silver in the all-around behind USA teammate, Allyse Ishino.

In June, Carly competed at the US National Championships. She placed first in the all-around and on beam! At the Olympic Trials, Carly fell twice on beam. Obviously, Carly was named to the US Olympic Team! At the Olympic Games, Carly led the prelim all-around competition. She stayed in that spot to become the Olympic All-Around Champion! Carly also won the beam and team silver! Following the Olympics, she did the TJ Maxx Tour in over forty US cities.

Other then her competition results, she has also earned awards. In 2003, Caroly was the USOC Team of the Year, Top Co-Athlete of the Year and was awarded the Loginess Prize of Elegance. Following her 2004 win, she was the USOC Sportswoman of the Year, Glamour Women of the Year, USA Gymnastics Athlete of the Year and US Sports Academy Female Athlete of the Year. She was also a Sullivan Award Nominee and ESPN Best Female Athlete in the World Nominee. Carly also earned CosmoGirl 'Born to Lead' honors. She was also the International Gymnastics of the Year for women. In 2005, Carly was a ESPY Award Nominee and one of the twenty teens that will change the world.

Fast Facts Name: Carly Patterson Birthday: February 4, 1988 Club: WOGA WOGA

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS Five Time US National Team Member Two Time TOP National Team Member 2004: Olympic Champion 2004: US Olympic Trials- 3rd AA 2004: US National Champion 2004: American Cup Champion 2003: World Team Champion, 2nd AA 2003: American Cup Champion 2002: US Jr. National Champion 2002: US Classic Champion 2001: US Jr. Nationals- 3rd AA 2001: US Classic Champion 2001: American Team Cup- 1st AA

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