Carly Patterson Biography

Carly Patterson has gone from Olympic gymnast to singer and author. Find out more about this 2004 Olympic gold medalist right here.

Carly Patterson - Child Gymnast

Carly Patterson was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on February 4, 1988. She began doing gymnastics when she was six after going to a cousin's birthday party at a gymnastics club. The coach of the club saw Carly on the equipment and suggested she join a gymnastics club. She trained at a club in Baton Rouge for five years before winning the Louisiana state gymnastics title in 1999. When she was 12, Carly and her family moved to Houston and she began training at the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy (WOGA) - an elite gymnastics academy with some of the best coaches in the world. While training at WOGA, she entered several national and international competitions and won the 2002 Junior National gymnastics title.

Carly Patterson - Olympic Champion

In 2003, Carly was chosen to represent the United States at the 2003 World Championships, where she and her teammates made history by becoming the first US women to win a World Championship team title. Carly would make history again the following year at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Patterson became just the second US woman to win the gold medal in the all-around competition, edging out Svetlana Khorkina of Russia. Carly would also leave Athens with a silver medal in the beam event and a silver medal in the women's team competition. Carly's performance at the Olympics made her a household name and led to numerous appearances on television talkshows and award shows.

Carly Patterson Biography - Did You Know?

Carly Patterson's signature beam dismount, an Arabian double front, was named The Patterson after the 2003 World Championships.

Carly Patterson is now pursuing a singing career. She's signed a demo CD contract with Joe Simpson of Papa Joe Records. (He's Jessica and Ashley Simpson's dad and manager.)

Carly Patterson makes a cameo appearance as herself in the gymnastics movie, Stick It, which comes out on April 28th, 2006.

Carly Patterson has two cats named Java and Beijing.

Carly Patterson - Meet Carly and Win A Gamecube!

Carly Patterson has co-written an autobiography called Be Strong, which is published by Postively For Kids. In the book, Carly writes about how strength and perseverence helped her win gold. You can win a copy of her book, a Nintendo Game Cube and other prizes, including a personal meet and greet with Carly, by entering the Carly Patterson: Be Strong Essay Contest. To find out more info and to enter the contest, head to www.positivelyforkids.com.

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