{{short description|American artistic gymnast}} {{Infobox gymnast | name = Kiya Johnson | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | full_name = | altname = | nickname = | country = | formercountry = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|2002|02|27}} | birth_place = Dallas, Texas, U.S. | spouse = | training = | height = <!-- "X cm" or "X ft Y in" plus optional reference (automatic conversion) -->5 ft 2 in | discipline = WAG | natlteam = | club = Texas Dreams Gymnastics | gym = | collegeteam = LSU Tigers<br>(2020–24) | headcoach = Jay Clark | assistcoach = Ashleigh Gnat | formercoach = Kim Zmeskal-Burdette | choreographer = Courtney McCool Griffeth | music = | eponymousskills = | retired = | worldranking = | show-medals = yes | medaltemplates = <!-- see Template:MedalRelatedTemplates --> {{MedalCountry | Texas Dreams}} {{MedalCompetition | Nastia Liukin Cup}} {{MedalGold | 2015 Arlington | All-Around (Jr.)}} {{MedalBronze | 2019 Greensboro | All-Around}} {{MedalCountry|Louisiana State Tigers}} center|80px {{MedalCompetition|NCAA Championships}} {{MedalGold|2024 Fort Worth|Team}} }}
'''Kiya Johnson''' (born February 27, 2002)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gymdivas.us/index.htm#region3|title=GymDivas.Us - Online Resource for Gymnasts in the United States|website=www.gymdivas.us|accessdate=19 June 2019}}</ref> is an American artistic gymnast. She currently competes for the LSU Tigers gymnastics team.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=211780807&DB_OEM_ID=5200|title=Gymnastics Announces Signature Signing Class|website=LSUsports.net|accessdate=19 June 2019|archive-date=19 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619174558/http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=211780807|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== 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.<ref name="advocate">{{cite web |last=Rabalais |first=Scott |date=July 21, 2018 |title=Two-time gymnastics junior national champion Kiya Johnson flips her commitment to LSU |url=https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/sports/lsu/article_bf08bb4a-8d15-11e8-a62b-9bc4283de5f3.html |accessdate=19 June 2019 |website=The Advocate}}</ref>
== Level 10 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;<ref>{{cite web|url= https://static.usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_15nlc_jr.pdf|title=2015 Nastia Liukin Cup|website=USA Gymnastics|accessdate=April 24, 2024}}</ref> she earned 2nd place on the vault and 5th place in the all-around at the Junior Olympic National Championships that same year.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://static.usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_15jo_jra.pdf|title=2015 JO National Championships|website=USA Gymnastics|accessdate=April 24, 2024}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://thegymter.net/2016/06/07/2016-secret-u-s-classic-results/|title=2016 U.S. Classic results|website=The Gymternet|date=June 7, 2016}}</ref>
Johnson returned to level 10 competition for the 2018 season. She placed 5th in the all-around at the Nastia Liukin Cup.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://static.usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_18nlc_sr.pdf|title=2018 Nastia Liukin Cup|website=USA Gymnastics|accessdate=April 24, 2024}}</ref> She tied for first place in the all-around and won the floor exercise title at the J.O. National Championships.<ref name="LSU" />
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.<ref name="advocate" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=USA Gymnastics {{!}} Kiya Johnson|url=https://usagym.org/pages/athletes/athleteListDetail.html?id=277950|access-date=2020-06-18|website=usagym.org|archive-date=2020-06-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621120558/https://usagym.org/pages/athletes/athleteListDetail.html?id=277950|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== 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.<ref name="RTN">{{cite web|url= https://roadtonationals.com/results/teams/gymnast/2020/34/30435|title=Teams|website=Road to Nationals|accessdate=April 24, 2024}}</ref> She was named SEC Freshman of the Week for four consecutive weeks beginning in January,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Johnson Crowned SEC Freshman of the Week|url=https://lsusports.net/news/2020/2/18/gymnastics-johnson-crowned-sec-freshman-of-the-week.aspx|access-date=2020-06-18|website=LSU Tigers|language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Johnson Named SEC Freshman of the Year|url=https://lsusports.net/news/2020/4/28/gymnastics-johnson-named-sec-freshman-of-the-year.aspx|access-date=2020-06-18|website=LSU Tigers|language=en}}</ref>
===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.<ref name="RTN" /> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.secsports.com/news/2021/03/2021-sec-gymnastics-championship-1|title=2021 SEC Gymnastics Championships|website=SEC Sports|date=March 21, 2021}}</ref> During the NCAA Championship semifinals, Johnson competed in the all-around, however LSU failed to advance to the final.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lsureveille.com/sports/lsu-gym-suffers-heartbreaking-frustrating-loss-in-ncaa-semifinals/article_b75155b6-9f31-11eb-af65-8fe0b073d1a6.html|title=LSU gym suffers heartbreaking, frustrating loss in NCAA Semifinals|work=The Daily Reveille|date=April 19, 2021|access-date=April 24, 2024|archive-date=April 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420194516/https://www.lsureveille.com/sports/lsu-gym-suffers-heartbreaking-frustrating-loss-in-ncaa-semifinals/article_b75155b6-9f31-11eb-af65-8fe0b073d1a6.html|url-status=live}}</ref> At the conclusion of the season, Johnson was named SEC Specialist of the Year.<ref name="LSU" />
===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.<ref name="RTN" /> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lsureveille.com/sports/a-puzzling-end-to-a-stellar-season-whats-next-for-lsu-gymnastics/article_2f48938e-cb20-11ec-ace4-875981ab6377.html|title=A puzzling end to a stellar season: What's next for LSU gymnastics?|website=LSUReveille|date=May 4, 2022}}</ref> Johnson qualified for the NCAA Championships as an individual competitor on vault. She finished sixth on the event with a score of 9.9125.<ref name="LSU" />
===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.<ref name="LSU">{{cite web|url=https://lsusports.net/sports/gm/roster/player/kiya-johnson/|title=Kiya Johnson|website=LSU Sports|accessdate=April 24, 2024}}</ref><ref name="insidegym">{{cite web|url=https://www.insidegymnastics.com/news-features/kiya-johnson-says-laser-focused-lsu-is-ready-for-regionals-ncaa-gymnastics/|title=Kiya Johnson says laser-focused LSU is ready for regionals "…we know that we’re going to do our gymnastics when we need to."|website=Inside Gymnastics Magazine|date=April 3, 2024}}</ref>
===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.<ref name="insidegym" /> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://gymnastics-now.com/2024-sec-gymnastics-championships-recap-lsu-wins-it-all/|title= 2024 SEC Gymnastics Championships Recap: LSU wins it all|website=Gymnastics Now|date=March 24, 2024}}</ref> During the NCAA Championships, Johnson once again competed in the all-around, helping LSU win their first national championship title in program history.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/39983558/lsu-women-take-home-ncaa-gymnastics-title-first|title= LSU women take home NCAA gymnastics title for first time|website=ESPN|date=April 20, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://gymnastics-now.com/live-blog-four-on-the-floor-final-2024-ncaa-womens-gymnastics-championships/|title= 2024 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships: LSU wins first title in program history|website=Gymnastics Now|date=April 21, 2024}}</ref>
==== Competitive history ==== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%;" |- ! align=center|Year ! align=center|Event ! style="width:30px;"|Team ! style="width:30px;"|AA ! style="width:30px;"|VT ! style="width:30px;"|UB ! style="width:30px;"|BB ! style="width:30px;"|FX |- | rowspan="2"|'''2021'''||align=left | SEC Championships|| {{silver2}} || {{silver2}} || 15 || 8 || 7 || {{gold1}} |- | align=left | NCAA Championships || {{abbreviation|SF|LSU made it to the Semifinals but did not advance to Four on the Floor}} || 8 || 4 || 32 || 17 || 20 |- | rowspan="2" | '''2022''' || align=left | SEC Championships || 5 || 13 || 8 || 47 || 9 || 8 |- | align=left|NCAA Championships || || || 6 || || || |- | rowspan="2" | '''2024''' || align=left | SEC Championships || {{gold1}} || 8 || {{silver2}} || 36 || 39 || {{gold1}} |- | align=left | NCAA Championships || {{gold1}}|| 7 || 17 || 18 || 19 || 10 |}
==== Career perfect 10.0 ==== {| class="wikitable" !Season !Date !Event !Meet |- | rowspan="2" |2020 |January 24, 2020 |Balance beam |LSU vs Florida |- |February 14, 2020 |Vault |GymQuarters Invite |- | rowspan="3" |2021 |January 8, 2021 | rowspan="4" |Floor exercise |LSU vs Arkansas |- |March 5, 2021 |LSU vs Missouri |- |March 20, 2021 |SEC Championships |- | rowspan="2" |2022 |February 5, 2022 |LSU vs Auburn |- |February 18, 2022 |Balance beam |LSU vs Alabama |- |2024 |January 19, 2024 |Floor exercise |LSU vs Kentucky |}
== References == {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Kiya}} Category:Living people Category:2002 births Category:LSU Tigers women's gymnasts Category:American female artistic gymnasts Category:Sportspeople from Dallas Category:Sportspeople from Coppell, Texas Category:Gymnasts from Texas Category:African-American gymnasts Category:21st-century American sportswomen