Kiya Johnson
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| Kiya Johnson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Regions represented | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | February 27, 2002 Dallas, Texas, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | Coppell, Texas, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 2 in (157 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Women's artistic gymnastics | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Level | NCAA | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Texas Dreams Gymnastics | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | LSU Tigers (2020–23) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach(es) | D-D Breaux | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assistant coach(es) | Jay Clark | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former coach(es) | Kim Zmeskal-Burdette | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Choreographer | Ashleigh Clare-Kearney | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Kiya Johnson (born February 27, 2002)[1] is an American artistic gymnast. She currently competes for the LSU Tigers gymnastics team.[2]
Early life
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]
Level 10/elite career
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; she earned 2nd place on the vault and 5th place in the all-around at the Junior Olympic National Championships that same year.
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.
Johnson returned to level 10 competition for the 2018 season. She placed 5th in the all-around at the Nastia Liukin Cup. She tied for first place in the all-around and won the floor exercise title at the J.O. National Championships.
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.[4]
College career
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. She was named SEC Freshman of the Week for four consecutive weeks beginning in January[5], 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.[6]
References
- ^ "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.
- ^ srabalais@theadvocate.com, SCOTT RABALAIS. "Two-time gymnastics junior national champion Kiya Johnson flips her commitment to LSU". The Advocate. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "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.