2004 Olympics: Gymnastics

Carly Patterson about to emerge on gymnastics' world stage

04:59 PM CDT on Friday, August 20, 2004

By CATHY HARASTA / The Dallas Morning News

ALLEN – Carly Patterson longs to get a car when she turns 16 next year.

She wants to get a suntan, too, when she can get out of the gym long enough to lounge beside her family's new backyard pool.

Patterson wouldn't mind more time to shop at area malls or daydream in her bedroom with its green décor and big bulletin board. And she'd like the leisure to surf the Internet at her Allen home.Patterson's similarities to a typical teen stop there. She could be next year's athletic American idol. If she attains her goal of competing in the Athens Olympics, she might be the 2004 equivalent of '84 Olympic champion Mary Lou Retton – a celebrity far beyond the gym.

Patterson is the youngest of the six-member U.S. women's squad bound for the World Gymnastics Championships in Anaheim, Calif., on Aug. 16-24. She made legendary Olympic coach Bela Karolyi's list of the three most talented American female gymnasts he has ever seen, joining Retton and Vanessa Atler.

Karolyi, who coached 27 Olympians, also tagged Patterson as among the few with a chance to become the sport's next mega-star.

But if the pressure gets to Patterson, known around her gym as "Harley Davidson," she rarely shows it. She successfully resumed training at the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy in Plano after a stress fracture in her left elbow sidelined her from the U.S. Championships in June.

She always had the drive, her coaches said. And when she needed to find another gear, she did.

Before the injury's detection in May, Patterson, the Visa American Cup champion, was favored to win her first senior national title. Her career, begun when she was 6, had been free of major injuries.

"I was kind of bummed," said Patterson, a Baton Rouge, La., native. "But now I'm pretty excited."

The twist, Karolyi said, is that Patterson's injury might have been the best thing that could have happened to her. It diffused the spotlight's glare and the scrutiny she attracted as the nation's most successful gymnast for the previous year.

"It is lucky for her to have had that injury," said Karolyi, whose wife, Martha, is the women's national team coordinator. "It is an injury she can overcome. She's the type who would take a pain or a difficulty and compete well. She is a lot like Mary Lou, who had knee surgery six weeks before she won the 1984 Olympics."

But "lucky" was not the word that Patterson's mother, Natalie, associated with her daughter's elbow injury and its timing.

"I thought, 'I can't stand this,' " said Natalie, a nurse whose career combines hospice work and marketing. "Gymnastics has been her lifestyle for so long. We knew what was coming up and that next year was her most important year."

The one to beat

But despite its stature and sheen, the glass-fronted cabinet wasn't really a luxury. Patterson's gymnastics trophies had multiplied and needed a storage spot. She soon might need her grandfather, John Mitchell, to build another towering walnut case to match the one in the front room of the handsome brick house she shares with her mother and sister, Jordan, 13, a volleyball player.

Patterson, the 2002 junior national gymnastics champion, became age-eligible for senior competition this year. Her victory in the Visa American Cup in Fairfax, Va., on March 1 set her up as the one to beat at the national championships in June.

The ornate Visa Cup trophy, made of crystal, is her favorite award, Patterson said. In winning the prestigious competition, she topped three U.S. gymnasts who went on to make the world team – new national all-around champion Courtney Kupets, a Bedford native and the reigning world uneven bars champion; Ashley Postell, the reigning world balance beam champion; and Annia Hatch, a vault specialist.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Elena Zamolodchikova of Russia also was in that field.

Postell said Patterson has the knack for competing hard and maintaining her composure.

"She makes it look so easy," Postell said. "She's really sweet, and she's such a good gymnast."

Patterson, 4-10, likes to laugh and make others laugh, Kupets said.

"We hang out and talk and laugh," Kupets said. "When she does routines, she's very calm."

Patterson, though unable to compete at the national championships in Milwaukee, attended the competition. Her WOGA teammate Hollie Vise of Dallas captured one of the automatic berths for the world team.

Vise, who will turn 16 in December, and Patterson, who will turn 16 in February, said they enjoy having a training partner who also is headed for the world championships.

"We think it's cool that we both made it," said Patterson, a sophomore-to-be who is switching from the Allen public schools to Spring Creek Academy, a Plano private school with flexible scheduling for young athletes and artists.

WOGA athletes take pride in having two world team members at their gym.

"It's inspiring because they're both really working hard," said junior international elite gymnast Allison Taylor, 15, a Dallas resident who trains at WOGA. "It's exciting because there are always people talking about it."

Martha Karolyi, in charge of forging a team from the nation's best gymnasts, called it a definite advantage to have two world squad members training in the same gym. "Every day is a competition day," she said.

Does all the time and effort ever get to Patterson?

"Sometimes I'm tired," Patterson said. "But once I get in the gym, I'm fine."

Off-the-wall child

Natalie, from Baton Rouge, watched her daughter bounce all over the house – off the walls and sofas – when Carly was a child.

"I liked flipping around the house," Patterson said. "But my mom didn't want me to hurt myself."

The problem was solved when Patterson, then 6, attended a relative's gymnastics-themed birthday party. Patterson's mother enrolled her daughter in gymnastics classes in Louisiana soon after the child's joyous introduction to the world of bars and beams.

Patterson, whose father, Ricky, lives in Louisiana, moved to the WOGA gym three years ago after training for one year in Houston.

"It's a challenge and just a really fun sport," she said. "It gives you confidence."

Though Patterson's strength as an all-around gymnast has distinguished her, she named the balance beam as her favorite event. The power displayed in her enthralling dismount helped earn her the nickname Harley Davidson. The "10" start value for her beam routine is the highest possible.

Vise, who won the beam national title in June, is expected to help the world team on the beam and the uneven bars. She led the all-around competition entering the final rotation at the U.S. Championships and finished in a tie for second.

The world championships provide nations with their only means to qualify gymnastics teams for the 2004 Olympics, with the top 12 teams making the Athens Games field. The U.S. women, who won no medals at the 2000 Olympics, have worked their way toward the top. Russia, Romania and China will pose the stiffest challenges.

USA Gymnastics officials have trumpeted their squad as the strongest since 1984.

But Martha Karolyi's shrewd eye searches for signs that a gymnast will not be 100 percent healthy for the world championships. She said decisions concerning which gymnasts compete as specialists and which ones do all events will be based on what is best for the team.

The healing pace of Patterson's elbow pleased Martha Karolyi, as did the gymnast's attitude.

"Carly always says, 'I'm fine.' " Martha Karolyi said. "Her body construction is just right. She has a clear mind and a very strong work ethic. Technically, she has good training in a good gym. They put together a program which includes discipline and dedication."

Evgeny Marchenko, a WOGA co-owner who coaches Patterson, has watched her flourish in the three years she has trained at his gym.

"She has become strong on the uneven bars," said Marchenko, named an assistant coach for the world team. "She understands more after being through so many competitions, traveling and camps.

"She understands what she wants."

Not that coach and pupil always agree. In trying out music selections for Patterson's floor routine, she proposed several options before she and Marchenko settled on a big-band theme.

"One was with a lot of drums," he said. "It didn't fly. I didn't like it."

Bela's blessing

Atler defeated coaches' high expectations by faltering at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials, after she trained at WOGA for the preceding eight months.

"Both of them were amazing personalities," said Bela Karolyi, who coached the U.S. and Romania to Olympic team titles. "One became an all-around Olympic champion. One failed to make the Olympic team."

He said the landscape must be right for a mega-star to emerge.

"You have to have a certain moment," he said. "You have to have the surprise effect."

Retton, who upset Romania's Ecaterina Szabo for the 1984 Olympic all-around title, had it, Bela Karolyi said. And so did a Romanian of note that he coached to gold at the 1976 Olympics.

"Nadia had it," he said of Nadia Comaneci, the first gymnast to receive a perfect "10" in Olympic competition. "She and Mary Lou were mega-stars. ... It's very, very hard to become a mega-star. But it is a very proper time. It is a good time."

He identified Patterson, Vise and Kupets as potential mega-stars in Anaheim.

"I would hesitate to point to one," he said.

When asked, Comaneci didn't hesitate. "I'm really excited to see what Carly is going to do," she said. "I really think she's the girl with the potential to do something big."

Marchenko and USA Gymnastics officials have helped Patterson and her mother, who is divorced, to avoid the problems that can occur when agents enter the picture.

To preserve NCAA eligibility, gymnasts must avoid accepting prize money or endorsing products outside of USA Gymnastics' realm.

"Sponsors and agents are out there after the up-and-coming athletes," Bela Karolyi said. "They can become a tremendous distraction."

Natalie said her daughter will remain under the amateur umbrella, participating only in USA Gymnastics' promotions.

Patterson prepares for the world championships with workouts every day except on Sunday. She travels periodically to the training center at the Karolyi ranch north of Houston.

A backyard pool made sense to Natalie because of the demands of gymnastics.

"We don't get to go too many places," Natalie said. "You just hope now that hard work and consistency will pay off. Carly's focusing on getting to worlds in tip-top shape."

Patterson manages to work in some pool-side lounging at home on the weekends. Since she got her learner's permit, she discovered another passion.

"I really, really like to drive," she said, her eyes shining.

She has her eye on an Acura RSX for down the road.

Gymnastics has been her avenue to distant places, including China and Australia. But her goal of competing in the Athens Olympics has driven her for years.

And as she said, she really, really likes to drive.

E-mail charasta@dallasnews.com

When: Saturday-Aug. 24

Where: Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, Calif.

Athletes: Almost 600 gymnasts from more than 70 nations.

Significance: The sport's sole 2004 Athens Olympics qualifier for nations and athletes. The top 12 teams make the Athens field. Medals will be awarded for team, individual all-around and individual event competitions for men and women.

Last time in the U.S.: 1991 in Indianapolis

First time in the U.S.: 1979 in Fort Worth

TV: Aug. 23: 1 p.m., Ch. 5. Aug. 24: 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., Ch. 5

Carly Patterson, 15, of Allen, has defeated top international competition before but never in the World Championships. This is her first year to be eligible for the worlds. Though she comes off an elbow stress fracture, her game-day composure, solid all-around skills and daring balance beam dismount could land her on the podium – more than once.

Hollie Vise, 15, of Dallas, trains with Patterson at the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy in Plano. Vise, the reigning balance beam U.S. champion, could duel with Patterson for beam gold. Vise also can help Team USA on the uneven bars. Her all-around skills gained more credibility at the U.S. Championships in June, when she finished in a tie for silver.

Courtney Kupets, 17, of Gaithersburg, Md., is a Bedford native. She moved away when she was a toddler. Kupets won her first national all-around title in June in Milwaukee. The reigning uneven bars world champion combines difficult routines with an incredible anti-gravity aura known to thrill international judges.

Annia Hatch, a native of Cuba and resident of West Haven, Conn., is the six-woman U.S. squad's strongest vaulter. She became a U.S. citizen in 2001.

Daniele Hypolito of Brazil finished fourth in the all-around and second in the floor exercise at the 2001 world championships.

Svetlana Khorkina of Russia has won 13 world medals since 1994 and three Olympic medals. The reigning European champion stars on the uneven bars.

Sara Moro of Spain was eighth in the all-around at the 2001 worlds and keeps getting better.

Andreea Munteanu of Romania captured her nation's all-around championship over a talented field.

Ashley Postell of Cheverly, Md., won the balance beam gold medal at the 2002 world championships but had some ragged moments at the U.S. Championships.

Tasha Schwikert, a two-time U.S. champion and Sydney Olympian, rallied at the U.S. Championships to tie Hollie Vise of Dallas for the all-around silver medal.

Verona Van De Leur of the Netherlands was second in floor exercise at the 2002 worlds. She could upgrade to gold.

MEN

Marian Dragulescu of Romania won the 2001 and 2002 world championships on floor exercise.

Paul Hamm, a Sydney Olympian and 2002 world floor exercise bronze medalist from Waukesha, Wis., won his second U.S. championship in June.

Ivan Ivankov of Belarus has won eight world medals since 1993 and world all-around titles in 1994 and 1997.

Jordan Jovtchev of Bulgaria, who trains in Houston, won silver on floor at the 2002 worlds and tied Dragulescu for the world floor title in 2001.

Alexei Nemov of Russia, a 12-time Olympic medalist and the 2000 Olympics all-around champion, has won eight world medals.

Vlasios Maras of Greece goes for his third consecutive world gold medal on the high bar.

Marius Urzica of Romania seeks his third consecutive pommel horse world championship.

Blaine Wilson, a two-time Olympian and winner of five consecutive U.S. championships, is his squad's most seasoned competitor.