Johannesburg - Eighteen years have passed since Ryan Patterson moved to the United States with his family as a four-year old but his heart and soul remained deeply rooted in South Africa.
Now, Patterson will be making history at the Rio Olympic Games. His hard work and dedication have paid off and he’ll become this country’s first male gymnast since Jack Wells participated at consecutive Olympics in 1952 and 1956.
The business graduate from the University of Berkeley qualified for the Games at the Olympic Test Event in April where he scored an all-round personal best total at international level of 82 932 finishing 44th overall in the competition.
He was awarded 14 333 points in the parallel bars section and 14 533 for both the floor exercise and vault.
“I think the realisation that I actually had the ability to make it came in my time at university when a teammate of mine on the NCAA team qualified onto the USA national team,” Patterson told the Sascoc website.
“We’ve always had similar strengths and weaknesses and, although not identical, we were very much alike.“His huge accomplishment was a catalyst in my belief and inspired me to go all out on my training and push for qualification.”
Patterson is also the first gymnast since Zandré Labuschagne and Stephanie Sandler in Athens 2004 and Odette Richard in Beijing 2008 to qualify for the Games.
The 22-year-old also represented South Africa at the inaugural 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore where he finished 33rd overall with a total of 77.700.
Four years later he finished 72nd at the 2014 World Artistic Championships in Nanjing, China before finishing one place lower two years later at the Glasgow edition.
Patterson earned his place for the Olympic Test Event as the highest ranked gymnast from the African continent finishing well ahead of Algeria’s Bourguieg Mohamed Abdeldjalil in 83rd place.
Although his favourite event is the high bar, Patterson is an all-rounder who will compete in six events at the Games.
“I believe the training I’ve put in over the years, as well as the training plan I’m currently in the process of completing, have put me in a position to have high expectations at the Games,” he said.
“I have goals of qualifying for the All-Around Finals as well as several event finals, including Floor and Vault.Patterson was only three-years-old when he was introduced to gymnastics in South African before he moved with this parents to the US where he grew up in Pacifica, California.
“In 1998 when we moved my mom put me in all different kinds of sports but made sure I stayed in gymnastics,” Patterson said.
“From there it took off and I never looked back.”
The Star