Biography
Carly Rae Patterson was born on February 4, 1988 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She was the first born child to her parents Ricky (district sales manager) and Natalie (registered nurse). Carly went to a birthday party at a gymnastics school when she just a small child and was instantly hooked to the sport. At the age of six, Carly's parents signed her up for lessons at a local gymnastics school. Carly then switched to Browns Gymnastics in Texas to further her training. She made her debut as an international junior elite gymnast there by placing 14th at the American Classic and 3rd at the US Classic in 2000. Carly continued her impressive streak that year by placing 3rd all-around at the National Championships in St. Louis, Missouri and earned herself a silver medal on beam.
However, shortly after Nationals, Carly decided to move to Allen, Texas and train at World Olympic Gymnastics Academy in nearby Plano. Carly has flourished at her new gym! She was selected to represent the United States at the 2000 Top Gym International in Belgium and the 2001 American Team Cup where she finished 1st all-around and lead her teammates to a victory in the team competition as well. She also tied for second at the WOGA Classic hosted by her gym.
Carly continued to work hard in the gym and her dedication payed off. She won the US Classic and also earned two gold medals for balance beam and floor exercice in July 2001. For those gymnastics fans who didn't hear about her before the meet, they definetely heard a lot about her after the meet! Many people realized what a talented gymnast she is, what amazing skills she can do, and the incredible poise and calmness she has at such a young age. Carly set her sites for the 2001 National Championships in Philedelphia, PA and finished with a bronze medal in the all-around and a silver medal on beam. She also competed in the 2001 Goodwill Games and finished 5th on beam and 7th all-around. Carly was in good position to actually win the Goodwill Games but faltered on her last event- floor which cost her the title, however, she gained some valuable experience for the future. Carly also competed in the Puli Cup shortly after the Goodwill Games and finished 3rd on bars and 1st on beam. In 2002, Carly also had a fantastic season. She became the 2002 Junior National Champion and also won the all-around titles at the WOGA Classic, National Podium Meet, Gymnix International, Jurassic Classic, US Classic, USA vs. Mexico Dual, and the USA vs. Brazil & Ukraine Meet. In addition to that, she also finished 2nd at the American Classic and Pacific Alliance.
Fifteen year old Carly is rooting on by both her parents and her younger sister, Jordan. They know the potential that Carly shows and they support her through every step of her gymnastics career. Carly is coached by Evgeny Marchenko and Natasha Boyarskaya at WOGA and she trains along side other young phenoms such as Devin Ave, Meghan Blair, Nikki Childs, Megan Dowlen, Stephanie Gentry, Alex Gold, Nina Kim, Nastia Liukin, Allison Taylor, Lindsey Vanden Eykel, Hollie Vise, and Kaitlin White. She was homeschooled for a period of time but switched back to public school in late 2001 and now attends Allen High School. In her free time she enjoys swimming, bike riding, and going on her computer. However, you can be sure that 6 days a week, Carly is in the gym, working her butt off doing the thing she loves most- gymnastics. Her long term goals are to make it to the 2003 World Championships and 2004 Olympics. With the talent and motivation that this young gymnast has, those goals seem like they can be easily achieved! This website will follow her journey every step of the way.