Carly Patterson Induction Speech 2022

At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Carly Patterson became the first American woman in 20 years to win the All-Around Olympic gold medal since Mary Lou Retton in 1984.
Carly began gymnastics in 1994 after attending a cousin's birthday party in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Less than a decade later, she joined World Olympic Gymnastics Academy (WOGA) in Plano, Texas, and made her senior international elite debut winning back-to-back American cup titles in 2003 & 2004.
At the 2003 Gymnastic World Championship competition, Carly’s iconic and signature beam dismount, an Arabian double front, was officially named the Patterson.
At the 2004 Olympics, she brought home 3 medals: Silver in beam and team competition and Gold in the most prestigious title in gymnastics, the All-Around champion.
Since her victory, Carly started an American winning streak where four American women have brought home this Olympic title back-to-back -Nastia Liukin in 2008, Gabby Douglass in 2012, Simone Biles in 2016, and Suni Lee in 2021. She is a member of the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame and now a member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame