| Ryan Patterson | |
| Birth Date: | 10 January 1994 |
| Height: | 177cm |
| Discipline: | MAG |
| Level: | Senior International Elite (South Africa national team) |
| Natlteam: | 2014 |
| Club: | Hjmouldie |
| Collegeteam: | University of California, Berkeley |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
Ryan Patterson (born 10 January 1994) is a South African male artistic gymnast who qualified to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Patterson was born on 10 January 1994.[1] He has dual South African and United States citizenship.[2] He attended the University of California, Berkeley in the United States.[3]
Paterson represented South Africa at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics held in Singapore,[4] where he finished 33rd in the men's artistic qualification with a total score of 77.700.[5]
Patterson finished 72nd at the 2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, held in Nanjing, China, with a total score of 81.373; he scored 14.766 on the floor, 12.333 for the pommel horse, 13.333 on the rings, 14.400 for the vault, 13.100 on the parallel bars and 13.441 on the horizontal bar.[6]
At the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, held in Glasgow, United Kingdom he finished 73rd out of 182 in the men’s all-around qualifications with a total score of 82.132 across the six apparatus. Patterson was the highest finishing African athlete ahead of Algerian Bourguieg Mohamed Abdeldjalil who placed 83rd. This earned Patterson a place at the Rio Olympic Test Event in 2016.[7]
In 2016, Patterson became the first male South African gymnast to qualify for the Olympics in 50 years.[8] At the Olympic Test Event, held in the Rio Olympic Arena, he scored an all-around total of 82.932 to finish 44th overall and secure the international qualification standard for the men's competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics to be held in Rio de Janeiro.[9] However, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) still had to confirm his nomination to compete.[10] His participation was confirmed by SASCOC on 11 May 2016.[3] At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he finished 46th out of 49 in the men's all-around qualifications with a total score of 80.690. He did not advance to any finals.[11]