SLS 05RS-50 ORIGINAL

Regular Session, 2005

SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 62

BY SENATOR N. GAUTREAUX

COMMENDATIONS. Commends Olympic gymnast Carly Patterson on her many accomplishments and her performance at the 2004 Summer in .

1 A RESOLUTION

2 To commend Olympic gymnast Carly Patterson on her many accomplishments and her

3 performance at the 2004 in Athens.

4 WHEREAS, it is with great pride that the citizens of Louisiana and the

5 of America commend Carly Patterson for the honor bestowed upon her and the United States

6 of America at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, the most prestigious

7 title in gymnastics, the Gold Medal Recipient of the 2004 Olympic women's individual all-

8 around competition, making her this country's first Olympic all-around champion in twenty

9 years, and the first American woman to win an Olympic all-around title in a fully attended

10 Olympic Game; and

11 WHEREAS, she received other prestigious awards at the Olympic Games, including

12 a silver medal with the United States Women's Team in the team competition, the first medal

13 for the United States women in eight years, and a silver medal in her specialty, the beam;

14 and

15 WHEREAS, Carly was born February 4, 1988 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the first

16 of two children to Ricky and Natalie Patterson; and

17 WHEREAS, Carly began gymnastics in 1994, after attending a cousin's birthday

18 party at Elite Gymnastics in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where the head coach asked her

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1 mother to enroll her in classes and where she spent the next five years of her gymnastics

2 career, earning the title of 1999 Louisiana Level 10 State Champion before moving to

3 Houston, Texas; and

4 WHEREAS, she spent her first year in Texas as an elite gymnast at Brown's

5 Gymnastics in Houston, Texas, and when her father was transferred to the /Fort

6 Worth area, Carly had the opportunity to train at one of the greatest gyms in the country, the

7 World Olympic Gymnastics Academy (WOGA) in Plano, Texas, where she began training

8 with Evgeny Marchenko and his team of elites; and

9 WHEREAS, Carly quickly proved herself to be the best of the best when, barely two

10 months after arriving at WOGA, she competed in her first international meet, the 2000 Top

11 Gym Tournament in , and finished second all-around to 's Anna Pavlova and

12 won the bronze medal on beam; and

13 WHEREAS, just a few months later Carly helped the United States defeat strong

14 Romanian and Chinese teams and captured the all-around gold at the 2001 American Team

15 Cup, where she debuted her signature beam dismount, an Arabian double front, which was

16 named the "Patterson" after last year's World Championships; and

17 WHEREAS, Carly continued her success in the junior ranks throughout 2001 and

18 2002, winning countless national and international medals, competing all across the United

19 States and Canada, South America, Australia and China; and

20 WHEREAS, in her third United States Nationals, Carly easily won the title of 2002

21 United States Junior National Champion, and won her first senior international title at the

22 2003 American Cup that same year, she was part of the United States 2003 World Team

23 Champions, the first United States women's team ever to win this prestigious award; and

24 WHEREAS, Carly spent 2003 recovering after having surgery on her elbow, but

25 came back strong for 2004, defending her American Cup Title and going on to tie Courtney

26 Kupets for the title of United States National Champion, and less than a month later was on

27 her way to Athens, Greece, having achieved her ultimate goal in gymnastics of earning a

28 spot on the United States Olympic Team; and

29 WHEREAS, little did Carly know that she would surpass that ultimate goal, and

30 capture the Olympic Gold Medal for the women's individual all-around title; and

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1 WHEREAS, it has been a non-stop whirlwind experience of touring, autograph

2 sessions and appearances since she was crowned Olympic Champion, including talk shows,

3 her own television special, having her picture on a Wheaties cereal box, walking the red

4 carpet at Hollywood premieres and award shows, performing in over forty cities on the T.J.

5 Maxx Tour of Gymnastics Champions and being honored as a special guest host of high-

6 powered events such as the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York

7 and Brian Boitano's Christmas Special, and riding on a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day

8 Parade, modeling at Fashion Week, featured in "Teen People" as one of twenty outstanding

9 young teens who will change the world, and working with the American Dental Association

10 and Extreme Home Makeover: Home Edition, a program helping a little six year old girl

11 named Gabby who is battling cancer; and

12 WHEREAS, the Olympic Champion, who turned seventeen in February, has been

13 going non-stop since her victory and is still a straight-A high school student, and is taking

14 advantage of what all her hard work and thirty plus hours a week of training and workouts

15 have rewarded her with; and

16 WHEREAS, the success of the state of Louisiana, the strength of our communities,

17 and the overall vitality of American society depend, in great measure upon young role

18 models like Carly Patterson who use their considerable talents to inspire and help others.

19 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby

20 congratulate Carly Patterson on her many accomplishments, her numerous achievements and

21 on her performance and much deserved Gold Medal for the women's individual all-around

22 title in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games.

23 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to

24 Olympic Gold Medalist, Carly Patterson.

The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Tammy Crain Waldrop.

DIGEST

Commends Carly Patterson on her many accomplishments and on her performance at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games.

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