Kailin Chio (born July 4, 2006) is an American artistic gymnast and former member of the USA national gymnastics team. She is the 2021 Junior Pan American Games champion on floor exercise and the 2025 NCAA champion on vault.
| Kailin Chio | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.jpg) Chio at the 2021 National Championships | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Kailin Chio | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | KK | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | July 4, 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gymnastics career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Women's artistic gymnastics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country represented |  United States (2021–2022) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
College team | LSU Tigers (2025–28) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | GymCats | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Head coach | Cassie Rice | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Assistant coach | Jill Preston | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Early life
editChio was born to Sara and Nathan Chio in 2006 in Henderson, Nevada. She started gymnastics in 2009.[1]
Gymnastics career
editJunior elite
editChio competed at the 2021 American Classic where she finished first in the all-around in the junior division.[2] In late May she competed at the U.S. Classic where she placed second in the all-around behind Katelyn Jong.[3] In June Chio competed at the 2021 U.S. National Championships. She ended the two day competition fifth in the all-around. She won gold on vault and bronze on floor exercise.[4] As a result, Chio was added to the national team for the first time. Additionally she was selected to represent the United States at the Junior Pan American Championships alongside Jong, Madray Johnson, and Kaliya Lincoln.[5]
At the 2021 Junior Pan American Championships Chio helped the USA finish first in the team final. Individually she won silver on the floor exercise behind compatriot Lincoln.[6][7] In November of that year Chio was selected to represent the United States at the inaugural Junior Pan American Games alongside Katelyn Jong, Madray Johnson, and Tiana Sumanasekera.[8] While there the United States placed first as a team and individually Chio won gold on floor exercise, silver in the all-around behind Jong, and bronze on uneven bars behind Johnson and Aurélie Tran of Canada.
Chio became age-eligible for senior competition in 2022. However, she did not compete during the season due to injury.
On January 9, 2023, Chio announced on her Instagram that she had retired from elite level gymnastics and would be competing Level 10.[9]
NCAA
editIn October 2022, she verbally committed to compete for the LSU Tigers gymnastics team starting in the 2024–25 season.[10] In November 2023, Chio signed her National Letter of Intent with the LSU Tigers.[11]
2025
editChio made her collegiate debut on January 3, 2025 in a meet against the Iowa State Cyclones. She competed on all four events, earning an all-around score of 39.575 to help LSU win.[12] As a result she was named SEC Freshman of the Week.[13] On March 14, 2025 Chio earned her first collegiate perfect ten on vault in a meet at Auburn University.[14] At the end of the regular season Chio was named 2025 SEC Freshman of the Year.[15] For her freshman season performance she took home All-America honors on every event and the all-around, the most of any LSU gymnast in their debut season. Uneven bars was the only event where she earned Second Team honors.[16]
At the 2025 NCAA Championships Chio scored a 9.975 on vault to win the national vault title outright. She placed sixth in the all-around.[17] She earned 2 postseason First Team All-America honors in vault and in the all-around.[18]
2026
editIn the regular season finale versus No. 8 Arkansas, Chio competed only on three events and earned a perfect 30.000, scoring perfect 10s on vault, beam, and floor, breaking the record at LSU for most perfect 10s in a season - nine. She was named the SEC Specialist of the Week on March 17, her first honor as a specialist.[19]
At the SEC Championship, Chio took home the vault and all-around title with a 9.975 and 39.775, respectively. In the anchor spot on balance beam she stuck a 9.950, placing second. But, it wasn't enough as LSU finished in third, behind Florida and Oklahoma.[20]
Chio was named the SEC Gymnast of the Year for her standout sophomore season, including 33 event titles and ranking as the No. 1 gymnast in the NCAA for four consecutive weeks. She also earned All-SEC honors, recording a top four score on each event, including the all-around, during the 2026 SEC Gymnastics Championships.[21][22]
NCAA Regular season ranking
editCareer perfect 10.0
edit| Season | Date | Event | Meet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | March 14, 2025 | Vault | LSU @ Auburn |
| 2026 | January 23, 2026 | Balance beam | LSU vs Kentucky |
| February 13, 2026 | Floor exercise | LSU vs Auburn | |
| February 20, 2026 | Vault | LSU @ Oklahoma | |
| Balance beam | |||
| February 27, 2026 | Balance beam | LSU vs Alabama | |
| March 1, 2026 | Balance beam | Alabama/Arizona/North Carolina | |
| March 13, 2026 | Vault | LSU vs Arkansas | |
| Balance beam | |||
| Floor exercise | |||
| April 2, 2026 | Vault | Baton Rouge Regional | |
| Floor exercise | |||
| April 4, 2026 | Vault | Baton Rouge Super Regional | |
| April 18, 2026 | Vault | NCAA National Championship |
Competitive history
edit| Year | Event | Team | AA | VT | UB | BB | FX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | |||||||
| 2021 | American Classic |  | | |  | 4 | |
| U.S. Classic | | 4 |  | 13 | 6 | ||
| U.S. National Championships | 5 | | 11 | 5 | | ||
| Pan American Championships | | | |||||
| Junior Pan American Games | | | | | |||
| 2023 | Nastia Liukin Cup | | |||||
| Level 10 National Championships | | | | 6 | 8 | ||
| NCAA | |||||||
| 2025 | SEC Championships | | 4 | 6 | 5 | 14 | |
| NCAA Championships | 5 | 6 | | 39 | 20 | 21 | |
| 2026 | SEC Championships | | | | 4 | | 7 |
| NCAA Championships | | | | 40 | 17 | | |
References
edit- ↑ "Kailin Chio". USA Gymnastics.
- ↑ "Chio takes junior all-around title at 2021 American Classic". USA Gymnastics. April 24, 2021. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
- ↑ "Jong coasts to 2021 GK U.S. Classic junior all-around title behind top scores on vault, uneven bars and balance beam". USA Gymnastics. May 21, 2021. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
- ↑ "Katelyn Jong Wins U.S. Junior Nationals". International Gymnast. June 6, 2021.
- ↑ "Jong pulls away from field to claim 2021 U.S. Gymnastics Championships junior all-around title, Junior Pan American Championships team named". USA Gymnastics. June 6, 2021. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
- ↑ "Seven U.S. gymnasts capture 15 medals during final day of 2021 Junior Pan American Championships". USA Gymnastics. June 21, 2021. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
- ↑ "2021 Junior Pan American Championships Results". The Gymternet. June 21, 2021.
- ↑ "USA Gymnastics names 2021 Junior Pan American Games women's artistic team". USA Gymnastics. November 17, 2021. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
- ↑ @kailin_chio; (January 9, 2023). "from starting this elite journey when i was 7 years old and becoming a senior elite at the age of 16 has been nothing short of amazing experiences and memories" – via Instagram.
- ↑ @kailin_chio; (October 13, 2022). "i am so excited to announce that i have verbally committed to LSU on a full athletic scholarship!" – via Instagram.
- ↑ "Gymnastics Announces Class of 2024 Signees". LSU Tigers. November 8, 2023.
- ↑ "LSU Gymnastics opens 2025 with a dominant win over Iowa State". Death Valley Insider. January 3, 2025.
- ↑ "Finnegan and Chio Win Week One SEC Gymnastics Awards". LSU Tigers. January 7, 2024.
- ↑ "No. 2 LSU's Chio vaults her way into a Perfect 10". Southeastern Conference. March 14, 2025.
- ↑ "LSU Tigers Gymnast Kailin Chio Named 2025 SEC Freshman of the Year". Sports Illustrated. March 27, 2025.
- ↑ "2025 WCGA Regular Season All-Americans Announced; Five Tigers Combined For 14 Honors". LSU. 2025-03-31. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
- ↑ "LSU gymnastics comes up short of berth in NCAA final; Kailin Chio wins NCAA vault title". The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate. April 17, 2025.
- ↑ "Four Gymnasts Earn 2025 NCAA All-America Honors". LSU. 2025-04-18. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
- ↑ "Kailin Chio Claims Sixth Conference Award in 2026, Named SEC Specialist of the Week". LSU. 2026-03-17. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
- ↑ "No. 2 Gymnastics Third at SEC Championships; Chio All-Around Champ". LSU. 2026-03-21. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
- ↑ "Kailin Chio and Kaliya Lincoln Claim 2026 SEC Postseason Awards, LSU Places Eight to All-SEC Team". LSU. 2026-03-25. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
- ↑ "2026 SEC Gymnastics Awards announced". Southeastern Conference. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
- ↑ "Standings". roadtonationals.com. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
- ↑ "Standings". roadtonationals.com. Retrieved 2026-04-23.