Carly Rae Patterson

Carly Rea Patterson (http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/celebrity-duets/photos/282739/5)

My hero is Carly Rae Patterson.

She was born on Feb.4, 1988. Her parents are Ricky and Natalie Patterson. Even though today she is 20 years old, she still lives with her mom, her younger sister, and their two cats.

(http://www.carlypatterson.org/)

She started gymnastics after her cousin’s birthday party in Elite Gymnastics. She was so talented that in less than a decade she made her debut at the senior international elite level, and won back to back American Cup tiles in 2003-2004. In 2001 she featured her signature double Arabian dismount that was officially named The Patterson. Later at the 2004 Games she won 1st place in the All Around event. She became the 1st American woman to ever win the Olympic All Around title in a fully attended Olympic Games. After the 2004 Games it was discovered that Carly had several bulging disks in her lower back. These disks gave her many problems with pain throughout her gymnastics career. So after the 2004 Games she announced that she would not be able to continue the training that gymnastics requires, so she retired. Since then, she has been on numerous guest appearances, interviews, and talk shows. Her possibilities in and out of the gym are unlimited. Carly proved that if you believe in yourself anything is possible.

To me Carly is my hero because she always wanted to succeed in the sport of gymnastics, and she never gave up. She is a hero in the sport of gymnastics, and a hero to many upcoming gymnasts.

Carly inspires me to continue working hard in gymnastics, and never give up.