Kara Estelle Patterson is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 athlete who competes in the javelin throw

Javelin throw

The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon...

. She is the American record

United States records in track and field

The following are the national records in track & field in the United States maintained by USA Track & Field .Key:-Men:-Women:-Men:-Women:+ = en route to a longer distanceA = affected by altitude# = not officially ratified by IAAF...

 holder in the javelin throw with a distance of 66.67 m.

Career

At the 2004 Olympic Trials, Patterson finished 19th with a distance of 42.60 m. In 2005, she won a silver medal at the 2005 Pan Am Junior Games with a distance of 50.26 m. At the 2008 Olympic Trials, Patterson won with a distance of 53.93 m. At the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

, Patterson didn't make it past the qualifying round and finished 41st overall with a distance of 54.39 m. At the 2009 World Championships in Athletics

2009 World Championships in Athletics

The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate....

, Patterson didn't make it past the qualifying round and finished 29th overall with a distance of 52.71 m.

On June 25, 2010, Patterson broke Kim Kreiner

Kim Kreiner

Kimberly A. Kreiner is a female javelin thrower from the United States. Her personal best throw is 64.19 metres, achieved in May 2007 in Fortaleza....

's American record of 64.19 m set in 2007 with a distance of 66.67 m.

Personal life

Patterson was born in Seattle, Washington in 1986, the daughter of Bruce and Rona Patterson. She is a 2005 graduate of Skyview High School

Skyview High School (Vancouver, Washington)

Skyview High School is a high school located in the Salmon Creek area of northern Vancouver, Washington. Opening its doors in 1997, it is the newest of six high schools in the Vancouver School District. The New Building design model incorporates an open classroom floor plan with the use of many...

 in Vancouver, Washington. Patterson attended Purdue University

Purdue University

Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...

 and graduated in 2009, majoring in nutrition, fitness and health. Patterson lives together with fellow athlete Russ Winger.

Personal bests

Event	Best (m)	Venue	Date
Javelin throw (outdoor)	66.67 AR, NR United States records in track and field The following are the national records in track & field in the United States maintained by USA Track & Field .Key:-Men:-Women:-Men:-Women:+ = en route to a longer distanceA = affected by altitude# = not officially ratified by IAAF...	Des Moines, Iowa Iowa Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...	June 25, 2010

Key: AR = Area record, NR = National record

External links

• Purdue University bio of Kara Patterson