Kiya Johnson

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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