Carly Rae Patterson (born February 4, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter and former artistic gymnast. She was the all-around champion at the 2004 Olympics, the first all-around champion for the United States at a non-boycotted Olympics, and is a member of the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame. Gymnastics Patterson began gymnastics after attending a cousin's birthday party at a Baton Rouge gymnastics club (Elite Gymnastics) in 1994. She was coached there by former Israeli Olympian Yohanan Moyal. She started competing internationally in 2000, when she was 12 years old. 2000–2003 In 2000, Patterson participated in the Top Gym Tournament in Belgium and won the silver medal in the all-around and the bronze on balance beam. The next year, at the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia, she was ranked second in the all-around before the final rotation but missed three landings on the floor exercise and finished seventh. Patterson became the U.S. junior national all-around champion in 2002. She then began her senior career by winning the 2003 American Cup, where she was the youngest competitor, having just turned 15. However, she was forced to sit out the 2003 U.S. National Championships, which would have been her first Nationals as a senior, because of a broken elbow. Although she could not compete in Nationals, Patterson successfully petitioned to the 2003 World Gymnastics Championships in Anaheim, California. There, she earned the all-around silver medal, becoming the first American woman to medal in a World Championships all-around since Shannon Miller in 1994. She also helped the United States earn the team gold medal, a first for the American women. 2004 Patterson again won the all-around at the American Cup in 2004, a performance she dedicated to her coach Evgeny Marchenko's mother, who had died just days before the competition. Later that year, she became 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, Patterson fell off the balance beam on both days of competition, dropping her to third place. However, her performances at a subsequent national training camp were strong enough for her to make the Olympic team. Olympic Games At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Patterson finished first overall in the preliminary round and qualified for the all-around and balance beam finals. The United States, including Patterson, struggled in the team final: She