Kiya_Johnson
Kiya Johnson
American artistic gymnast
Kiya Johnson (born February 27, 2002)[1] is an American artistic gymnast. She currently competes for the LSU Tigers gymnastics team.[2]
| Kiya Johnson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Regions represented | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (2002-02-27) February 27, 2002 (age 22) Dallas, Texas, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hometown | Coppell, Texas, U.S, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 2 in (157 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Women's artistic gymnastics | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Level | NCAA | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Texas Dreams Gymnastics | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | LSU Tigers (2020–24) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach(es) | Jay Clark | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assistant coach(es) | Ashleigh Gnat | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former coach(es) | Kim Zmeskal-Burdette | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Choreographer | Courtney McCool Griffeth | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Johnson was born on February 27, 2002, in Dallas, Texas, to Carl and Kyesha Johnson. She grew up in Coppell, Texas, where she attended Coppell High School, graduating a year early in 2019.[3]
Johnson trained at Texas Dreams Gymnastics under coaches Kim Zmeskal Burdette and Chris Burdette. She was the junior Nastia Liukin Cup all-around, vault, and beam champion in 2015;[4] she earned 2nd place on the vault and 5th place in the all-around at the Junior Olympic National Championships that same year.[5]
In 2016, Johnson briefly trained as a junior elite gymnast; she earned a berth to the Secret U.S. Classic, placing 17th in the all-around and tying for 7th place on floor exercise.[6]
Johnson returned to level 10 competition for the 2018 season. She placed 5th in the all-around at the Nastia Liukin Cup.[7] She tied for first place in the all-around and won the floor exercise title at the J.O. National Championships.[8]
In 2019, Johnson earned the bronze medal in the all-around at the Nastia Liukin Cup, and successfully defended her J.O. National Championship all-around and floor exercise titles, adding another title on the balance beam.[3][9]
2020
Johnson began competing for the LSU Tigers gymnastics team in the 2020 season. She competed all-around in 9 of 11 meets. On January 24, she earned her first career perfect 10 on the balance beam at Florida, and on February 14 added a perfect 10 on the vault at the GymQuarters invitational. She also posted season-high scores of 9.95 on the uneven bars, 9.975 on the floor exercise, and 39.75 in the all-around.[10] She was named SEC Freshman of the Week for four consecutive weeks beginning in January,[11] and also earned the SEC Gymnast of the Week honor following an all-around win against Auburn on January 17.
At the conclusion of the (prematurely terminated) season, Johnson was named the SEC Freshman of the Year. She also earned first team All-America honors on vault, floor exercise, and the all-around.[12]
2021
On January 8, Johnson earned her third career perfect 10 on floor exercise in a meet against Arkansas. On March 5, she scored another perfect 10 on the event against Missouri.[10] At the SEC Championships, Jonnson scored her third perfect 10 of the season on floor exercise, winning the SEC title on the event. She also placed second in the all-around behind Luisa Blanco of Alabama.[13] During the NCAA Championship semifinals, Johnson competed in the all-around, however LSU failed to advance to the final.[14] At the conclusion of the season, Johnson was named SEC Specialist of the Year.[8]
2022
On February 5, Johnson scored her sixth career perfect 10 on floor exercise against Auburn. On February 18, she scored another perfect 10 on the balance beam against Alabama.[10] At the NCAA regional semifinals, she contributed scores on all four events, however LSU suffered two uncharacteristic falls on balance beam and as a result was eliminated from the postseason during the first round of regionals, failing to qualify for the national championship as a team.[15] Johnson qualified for the NCAA Championships as an individual competitor on vault. She finished sixth on the event with a score of 9.9125.[8]
2023
During the second meet of the 2023 season, Johnson suffered an Achilles tendon rupture on floor exercise, which ruled her out for the remainder of the season.[8][16]
2024
Johnson returned for the 2024 season for her fifth year of eligibility. On January 19, she scored a perfect 10 on floor exercise in a meet against Kentucky, one year after she tore her Achilles competing on the same event against the same team.[16] At the SEC Championships, Johnson competed in the all-around, helping LSU win the SEC conference title. She also tied for the SEC floor exercise title with Kentucky's Raena Worley and teammate KJ Johnson, all posting 9.975s.[17] During the NCAA Championships, Johnson once again competed in the all-around, helping LSU win their first national championship title in program history.[18][19]
Competitive history
| Year | Event | Team | AA | VT | UB | BB | FX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | SEC Championships |  | | 15 | 8 | 7 |  |
| NCAA Championships | SF | 8 | 4 | 32 | 17 | 20 | |
| 2022 | SEC Championships | 5 | 13 | 8 | 47 | 9 | 8 |
| NCAA Championships | 6 | ||||||
| 2024 | SEC Championships | | 8 | | 36 | 39 | |
| NCAA Championships | | 7 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 10 |
Career perfect 10.0
| Season | Date | Event | Meet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | January 24, 2020 | Balance beam | LSU vs Florida |
| February 14, 2020 | Vault | GymQuarters Invite | |
| 2021 | January 8, 2021 | Floor exercise | LSU vs Arkansas |
| March 5, 2021 | LSU vs Missouri | ||
| March 20, 2021 | SEC Championships | ||
| 2022 | February 5, 2022 | LSU vs Auburn | |
| February 18, 2022 | Balance beam | LSU vs Alabama | |
| 2024 | January 19, 2024 | Floor exercise | LSU vs Kentucky |
- "GymDivas.Us - Online Resource for Gymnasts in the United States". www.gymdivas.us. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- "Gymnastics Announces Signature Signing Class". LSUsports.net. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- Rabalais, Scott (July 21, 2018). "Two-time gymnastics junior national champion Kiya Johnson flips her commitment to LSU". The Advocate. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- "2015 Nastia Liukin Cup" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- "2015 JO National Championships" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- "2016 U.S. Classic results". The Gymternet. June 7, 2016.
- "2018 Nastia Liukin Cup" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- "Kiya Johnson". LSU Sports. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- "USA Gymnastics | Kiya Johnson". usagym.org. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
- "Johnson Crowned SEC Freshman of the Week". LSU Tigers. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
- "Johnson Named SEC Freshman of the Year". LSU Tigers. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
- "2021 SEC Gymnastics Championships". SEC Sports. March 21, 2021.
- "LSU gym suffers heartbreaking, frustrating loss in NCAA Semifinals". The Daily Reveille. April 19, 2021. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- "A puzzling end to a stellar season: What's next for LSU gymnastics?". LSUReveille. May 4, 2022.
- "Kiya Johnson says laser-focused LSU is ready for regionals "…we know that we're going to do our gymnastics when we need to."". Inside Gymnastics Magazine. April 3, 2024.
- "2024 SEC Gymnastics Championships Recap: LSU wins it all". Gymnastics Now. March 24, 2024.
- "LSU women take home NCAA gymnastics title for first time". ESPN. April 20, 2024.
- "2024 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships: LSU wins first title in program history". Gymnastics Now. April 21, 2024.