Carly Patterson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Carly Patterson
Patterson in 2009
Personal information
Full name	Carly Rae Patterson
Country represented	United States
Born	(1988-02-04) February 4, 1988 (age 37) Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
Height	5 ft 0 in (152 cm)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Years on national team	2000–2004 (USA)
Club	World Olympic Gymnastics Academy
Head coach(es)	Evgeny Marchenko
Assistant coach(es)	Natasha Boyarskaya
Choreographer	Tatiana Shegolkova
Eponymous skills	Patterson: Double Arabian Dismount (balance beam)
Retired	2006
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 2 0 World Championships 1 1 0 American Cup 2 0 0 Event 1st 2nd 3rd All-Around (OG/WC) 2 2 0 Uneven Bars (OG/WC) 0 0 0 Balance Beam (OG/WC) 0 1 0 Vault (OG/WC) 0 0 0 Floor Exercise (OG/WC) 0 0 0 Women's artistic gymnastics Representing  United States Olympic Games Gold 2004 Athens All-around Silver 2004 Athens Team Silver 2004 Athens Balance Beam World Championships Gold 2003 Anaheim Team Silver 2003 Anaheim All-around American Cup Gold 2003 Fairfax All-around Gold 2004 New York All-around
Awards	Longines Prize for Elegance

Carly Rae Patterson (born February 4, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and former artistic gymnast. She made history by becoming the all-around champion at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She was the first American woman to win this title at an Olympics where all countries competed. Carly is also a member of the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame. Today, she often joins radio shows in the Dallas Fort-Worth area.

Gymnastics Career

Carly started gymnastics in 1994 after going to a birthday party at a gym in Baton Rouge. She was coached by former Israeli Olympian Yohanan Moyal. Carly began competing internationally when she was 12 years old in 2000.

Early Competitions (2000–2003)

In 2000, Carly competed in the Top Gym Tournament in Belgium. She won a silver medal in the all-around and a bronze medal on the balance beam. The next year, at the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia, she was doing very well. However, she had some mistakes on the floor exercise and finished seventh.

Carly became the U.S. junior national all-around champion in 2002. She then started her senior career by winning the 2003 American Cup. She was the youngest competitor there, having just turned 15. Sadly, she couldn't compete in the 2003 USA Gymnastics National Championships because of a broken elbow.

Even though she missed Nationals, Carly was allowed to compete at the 2003 World Gymnastics Championships in Anaheim, California. There, she won the all-around silver medal. This made her the first American woman to win an all-around medal at the World Championships since Shannon Miller in 1994. She also helped the United States team win the gold medal, which was a first for American women.

Road to the Olympics (2004)

Carly won the all-around title at the American Cup again in 2004. She dedicated this win to her coach's mother, who had recently passed away. Later that year, she became a co-national champion with Courtney Kupets. She also won the floor exercise at the National Championships and placed second on balance beam.

At the Olympic Trials, Carly fell off the balance beam on both days. This dropped her to third place. However, her strong performances at a training camp afterward helped her make the Olympic team.

Olympic Games in Athens

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Carly finished first in the first round. This meant she qualified for the all-around and balance beam finals. The U.S. team, including Carly, faced some challenges in the team final. Carly had some wobbles and mistakes. The U.S. women, who were world champions, won the silver medal.

In the individual all-around final, Carly had a very close competition with three-time world champion Svetlana Khorkina from Russia. After a lower score on vault, Carly performed strongly on her last three events. She scored high on uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. She became only the second American woman to win an Olympic all-around gold medal. She was the first to do so in an Olympics where all major countries participated. (Mary Lou Retton won in 1984, but some countries did not attend those Games.)

On August 23, Carly competed in the balance beam final. She earned a score of 9.775 and won the silver medal. Cătălina Ponor of Romania won the gold.

After the Olympics

Soon after the Olympics, doctors found that Carly had several back injuries. She decided to take time off from gymnastics to heal. In 2006, she officially retired without competing again. She explained in an interview that her doctor advised her to stop gymnastics to protect her back for the future.

Carly still attends events and has worked with companies as a sponsor. She also released her authorized biography in April 2006. In December 2011, she was featured on the TV show Hollywood at Home.

Special Gymnastics Skill

Carly Patterson has a special skill named after her in gymnastics. It is listed in the Code of Points, which is like a rulebook for gymnastics.

Music Career

Carly first shared her interest in becoming a professional singer in 2005. On August 21, 2005, she talked more about her music career on Fox Sports Net. She sang a part of a song called "Damaged" and mentioned recording a demo in New York City. On December 18, 2005, she announced she signed a contract for four songs with Papa Joe's Records. She worked with singer and writer Chris Megert. They wrote and produced songs like "Time to Wake Up" and "Lost in Me."

Celebrity Duets

On August 29, 2006, Carly appeared on the TV show Celebrity Duets. This was a competition show where celebrities who weren't known for singing teamed up with professional singers. One celebrity was voted off each week. The show aired on Fox from September 7 to October 13, 2006.

On September 15, 2006, Carly was eliminated from the competition. She had sung with Jesse McCartney. Carly said she would continue to sing. She also encouraged the audience to keep voting for the other celebrities because each vote raised money for charity.

Recording Music

On February 4, 2008, Carly signed a recording contract with MusicMind Records. Her first single, "Temporary Life (Ordinary Girl)," was released on iTunes on March 25, 2008. Her first album, Back to the Beginning, was released on August 25, 2009. Before the album, she released another single, "Time to Wake Up," on iTunes on February 19, 2009.

On September 10, 2008, a remixed version of "Temporary Life (Ordinary Girl)" was played on Bobby Bones Show. Carly's song "Here I Am" was also featured on the TV series Make It or Break It. This show was about teen gymnasts trying to reach the Olympic Games.

Personal Life

On January 21, 2012, Carly Patterson got engaged to Mark Caldwell. They married on November 3, 2012, in Dallas, Texas. They now have three children.

Honors and Awards

Carly Patterson was chosen for the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2009. She was also inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024.

See also

In Spanish: Carly Patterson para niños

• Gymnastics at the 2004 Summer Olympics
• United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics