Carly Rae Patterson (born February 4, 1988)[2] is an American singer, songwriter and former artistic gymnast.

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.

She then began her senior career by winning the 2003 American Cup, where she was the youngest competitor, having just turned 15.

Although she could not compete in Nationals, Patterson successfully petitioned to the 2003 World Gymnastics Championships in Anaheim, California.

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.

At the Olympic Trials, Patterson fell off the balance beam on both days of competition, dropping her to third place.

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.

)[6][7] On August 23, Patterson competed in the balance beam event final, where she received a score of 9.775 and won the silver medal behind Cătălina Ponor of Romania.

She announced her intention to take time off from the sport to rehabilitate her back, but she officially retired in 2006 without ever participating in another major competition.

She recalled the decision in a 2009 interview, saying, "I started having some back issues, and honestly, my doctor was like, 'Carly, you really need to stop if you want to be able to walk when you get older.'

She also has a number of high-profile corporate sponsorships; she appeared in a Mobile ESPN commercial aired during Super Bowl XL in 2006.

On September 10, 2008, a remixed version of Patterson's "Temporary Life (Ordinary Girl)" was played on the Bobby Bones Show.