It is the first day of eleventh grade.  A perky teenage girl bounces her way through the high school campus.  It's like any other first-day-of-school for any other pony-tailed 16 year old.  Except for one thing: this pony-tailed 16 year old just happens to be an Olympic champion.

     Carly Patterson amazed the world with her performances in the Athens 2004 Olympics.  She amazed her parents and coaches, too, when she began gymnastics ten years ago.  But Carly has come a long way since her first tumble at age six.

    

     It all came together for Carly, though, in the year 2003.  She began the year by winning to Visa American Cup at the age of 15.  She was made a member of the World Championship gold medal team, and she took the silver in the all-around competition there.  Her achievements earned her the title of 2003 TOPS co-athlete of the year. 

     

     2004, however, was a far better time for the young gymnast.  She again won the Visa American Cup and was named 2004 USA Gymnastics co-athlete of the year.  Then she made a historic trip to Athens, Greece.  

     Carly Patterson competed in the team competition in the 2004 Olympics alongside Courtney Kupets, Mohini Bhardwaj, Annia Hatch, Terin Humphrey, and Courtney McCool.  The team went into the competitions with high expectations.  Americans watching expected just as much.  The US women were a clear favorite for the gold medal.  

     Unfortunately, a stumble here and an error there lead the team to a solver medal.  The Romanian women took home the gold after a near-flawless team performance.  Patterson's efforts that night were not what anyone had anticipated.

     Two nights later, she made up for all her mistakes in the team competition.  Actually, she probably made up for every mistake she'd ever made.  She competed in the individual all-around against veteran diva Svetlana Khorkina from Russia, who had edged her in the Worlds a year before.  

     Carly wouldn't let that happen again, though.  She was determined to make the Athens 2004 Olympics hers.  As Khorkina wobbled on the beam and fell off of the uneven bars, Patterson danced her way to a 9.7 on the floor exercise.  A night-high score of 9.725 on the beam secured the gold for the cheerful gymnast.  And the Russian "diva" walked away pouting.

That night, Carly Patterson became the first woman to win the all around since Mary Lou Retton in 1984.  But Retton was overjoyed someone had finally stepped up to take her place.  Patterson phoned Mary Lou directly after her golden victory, and she was told the crown had been waiting for her for twenty years.  "Carly Patterson," she said, "It's yours!"    

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