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Kiya Johnson
Kiya Johnson (born February 27, 2002)[1] is an American artistic gymnast. She currently competes for the LSU Tigers gymnastics team.[2] Early lifeJohnson 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] Level 10 careerJohnson 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] College career2020Johnson 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] 2021On 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] 2022On 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] 2023During 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] 2024Johnson 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
Career perfect 10.0
References
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