Kayla Williams (gymnast)

Last updated

Kayla Williams
Kayla.JPG
Williams on the podium at the 2009 World Championships
Personal information
Full nameKayla Rose Williams
Country representedFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Born (1993-05-08) May 8, 1993 (age 31)
Nitro, West Virginia, U.S.
Hometown Huntington, West Virginia, U.S.
Residence Tuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S.
Height5 ft 2 in (157 cm)
Discipline Women's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International Elite
Years on national team2009 (USA)
Gym Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy
College team Alabama Crimson Tide
Head coach(es) Mary Lee Tracy
Medal record
Representing Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2009 London Vault
NCAA Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2012 Duluth Team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2013 Los Angeles Team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2015 Fort Worth Vault

Kayla Rose Williams (born May 8, 1993) is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2009 vault world champion and 2009 vault national champion.

Contents

Senior career

Williams began 2009 as a Level 10 gymnast, which is below elite level in USA Gymnastics. In May 2009, she won the Junior Olympic National Championships in the all-around, vault, and floor exercise and won second on balance beam. She qualified to elite level at a meet in June. [1]

After qualifying for the U.S. Classic, she won the vault and floor exercise at that event and placed fifth in the all-around and on balance beam. This qualified her to the 2009 USA Gymnastics National Championships. [2] Williams was the first West Virginian since Mary Lou Retton in 1984 to compete at the U.S. Championships. [1] At the U.S. Championships, she won the National title on vault and made the U.S. National Team as a senior elite. Two months later, Williams was named to the team for the 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

At the 2009 World Championships, Williams qualified first on vault. On the night of the vault event final, she competed a handspring laidout Rudi and a Yurchenko double full for a combined score of 15.087 and won the gold medal. She is the first American gymnast to win the World vault title. [3]

Collegiate career

She retired from elite gymnastics in July 2010, but continued to compete in Level 10 and in the NCAA. In May 2010, she committed to compete for the University of Alabama gymnastics team. [4]

As a freshman in 2012, Williams helped lead Alabama to their second consecutive National Championship. [5] As a senior in 2015, she won bronze on the vault at the NCAA Championships. [6]

Personal life

Williams attended Huntington High School. [7]

She graduated at the University of Alabama with a bachelor's degree in public relations in August 2014. [8] She is currently enrolled at Tulane Law School, and expected to graduate in 2023.

Related Research Articles

Terin Marie Humphrey is a retired American artistic gymnast. She competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, where she helped the United States team place second and won an individual silver medal on the uneven bars. Humphrey was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2008 as a member of the 2003 World Championships team, and in 2015 as an individual gymnast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alicia Sacramone</span> American artistic gymnast

Alicia Marie Sacramone Quinn is a retired American artistic gymnast. She won a silver medal with the United States team at the 2008 Summer Olympics and is the 2005 World Champion on floor exercise and the 2010 World Champion on the vault. With a total of eleven World Championship and Olympic medals, Sacramone is the fourth most decorated U.S. female gymnast, behind Simone Biles (30), Shannon Miller (16), and Nastia Liukin (14).

Kayla Marie Hoffman is a former American artistic gymnast from Union, New Jersey. A former senior international elite, she competed for the University of Alabama gymnastics team from 2008 to 2011. In 2011, she won the Honda Sports Award as the top woman gymnast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyla Ross</span> American artistic gymnast

Kyla Briana Ross is a retired American artistic gymnast and current assistant coach for the Arkansas Razorbacks gymnastics team. She is the first female gymnast to win NCAA, World, and Olympic championship titles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mackenzie Caquatto</span> American gymnast (born 1992)

Mackenzie CaquattoJaworksi is a former artistic gymnast who represented the United States at the 2010 World Championships and competed for the University of Florida. Her younger sister, Bridgette Caquatto, is also a former elite gymnast. She married former elite runner Griffin Jaworski on September 4, 2020.

Samantha "Sami" Shapiro is an American gymnast. She is a five-time member of the US Women's National Gymnastics Team. She was the 2007 U.S. junior uneven bars champion, 2008 U.S. junior uneven bars and balance beam champion, 2008 Pan American Champion in both women's uneven bars and balance beam, and 2014 NCAA uneven bars silver medalist.

Ashley Miles Greig is a retired American artistic gymnast and current head coach of the Iowa State University Women's Gymnastics team.

Kytra Tinisha Hunter is a former American artistic gymnast who competed for the University of Florida from 2011–15. One of Florida's most decorated gymnasts, Hunter is a 25-time All-American and a four-time individual NCAA national champion. She was a 2012 and 2015 recipient of the Honda Award.

MyKayla Brooke Skinner Harmer is an American former artistic gymnast. She was the 2020 Olympic vault silver medalist, competing as an individual, and was an alternate for the 2016 Olympic team. Skinner competed at the 2014 World Championships, where she contributed to the U.S. team's gold medal, also winning an individual bronze medal on vault. She won 11 total medals at the USA National Championships during her senior career. She also competed for the University of Utah's gymnastics team and was a two-time NCAA champion while also setting Pac-12 records for conference honors.

Kennedy Baker is a retired American collegiate and artistic gymnast. She competed as an elite gymnast from 2009 through 2013 and has since retired. She had competed in collegiate gymnastics for the Florida Gators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ragan Smith</span> American artistic gymnast

Ragan Elizabeth Smith is a retired American gymnast. She is a five-time member of the US National Team (2014–2019) and competed for the University of Oklahoma in collegiate gymnastics from 2020–2024. She is the 2017 United States national all-around champion and was an alternate for the 2016 Olympic team.

Amanda Rose Jetter is a former American artistic gymnast. She competed in the NCAA for the University of Alabama's gymnastics team.

Trinity Lemyra Thomas is an American artistic gymnast and a four-time National Team member (2016–20). She was a member of the gold medal-winning team at the 2018 Pan American Gymnastics Championships, where she also won silver medals in the individual all-around and on the uneven bars, as well as the bronze medalist on balance beam and floor exercise at the 2017 national championships. She was a member of the Florida Gators women's gymnastics team. One of the most successful NCAA gymnasts in history, Thomas finished her collegiate career with a record-tying 28 perfect-10 scores and a record-breaking five Gym Slams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shallon Olsen</span> Canadian artistic gymnast

Shallon Jade Olsen is a Canadian artistic gymnast. She is the 2018 World silver medallist and 2018 Commonwealth Games champion on vault. She is also the 2018 Commonwealth Games floor exercise bronze medallist and the 2019 Pan American Games vault bronze medallist. She was a member of the Canadian team that won the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the silver medal at the 2019 Pan American Games. She is also the 2016 Pacific Rim vault champion, team silver medallist, and floor exercise bronze medallist. She represented Canada at the 2016 Olympics where she was the youngest member of the Canadian Olympic team and at the 2020 Olympic Games. Additionally, she currently competes for the University of Alabama gymnastics team, and she helped the Crimson Tide win the 2021 SEC Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jade Carey</span> American artistic gymnast (born 2000)

Jade Ashtyn Carey is an American artistic gymnast. She represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics as an individual, and at the 2024 Summer Olympics as a member of the U.S. women's team, nicknamed the "Golden Girls".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kayla DiCello</span> American artistic gymnast

Kayla Kecia DiCello is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2021 World bronze medalist and the 2023 Pan American Games champion in the all-around. On the junior level, she is the 2019 Junior World vault champion and the 2019 U.S. Junior national all-around champion. She was an alternate for the 2020 Olympic team and the gold medal-winning 2023 World Championships team. She also competes for the University of Florida women's gymnastics team.

Olivia Greaves is an American artistic gymnast and was a member of the United States women's national artistic gymnastics team (2018–2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Konnor McClain</span> American artistic gymnast

Konnor McClain is an American artistic gymnast and a member of the United States women's national gymnastics team. She is the 2022 U.S National Champion and was the 2019 City of Jesolo Trophy and the 2019 U.S. Classic Junior All-Around Champion.

Haleigh Alexandra Bryant is an American artistic gymnast currently competing for Louisiana State University in the NCAA. She is the 2024 NCAA Champion in the team and individual all-around, and is the 2021 NCAA Champion on vault.

Luisa Fernanda Blanco Saavedra is an artistic gymnast. Born in the United States, she represents Colombia internationally. She competed for the Alabama Crimson Tide gymnastic team and is the 2021 NCAA Champion on the balance beam. She represented Colombia at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

References

  1. 1 2 Atkinson, Tommy R. (August 9, 2009). "Spot in nationals fulfills dream for Huntington gymnast". Charleston Gazette. Archived from the original on September 17, 2009. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
  2. ↑ Atkinson, Tommy R. (October 5, 2009). "Nitro native heads to world stage". Charleston Gazette. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Williams vaults to gold at worlds". ESPN. October 17, 2009. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  4. ↑ Traylor, Grant (May 29, 2010). "Williams going to Alabama". The Herald-Dispatch . Retrieved June 1, 2010.
  5. ↑ Atkinson, Tommy (July 22, 2012). "Olympic dreams swapped for NCAA title". The Charleston Gazette . Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  6. ↑ Gymnasts Earn Individual Top-5 Finishes at NCAA Championships
  7. ↑ Cline, Carrie (October 21, 2009). "Gold Medal Gymnast Kayla Williams Returns to School". WSAZ-TV. Archived from the original on October 20, 2009. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Kayla Williams Profile - ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE - University of Alabama Official Athletic Site". www.rolltide.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2012.

Bozho's Gym Nest 1999-2009

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.