In her first eight weeks of competition with LSU gymnastics, Kailin Chio is making her case as one of the most decorated freshmen ever.
The Nevada native is headline-making in her first collegiate season, with six all-around titles and SEC awards. In Week 8, Chio matched Haleigh Bryant in 2021 as the only other gymnast to meet that mark, and she still has three meets left in the regular season to make history.
“She’s a killer,” Tigers head coach Jay Clark said. “It’s highly unusual to see that level of consistency from a freshman on all four events.”
It’s not hard to imagine she’s a favorite for SEC and NCAA Freshman of the Year—not to mention if LSU can produce another national championship, she’d become the third freshman in school history to compete and win it alongside Amari Drayton and Konnor McClain.
After beginning the season unranked, Chio’s all-around scores have placed her as the No. 4 gymnast in the nation.
“I think that my confidence level has really grown,” Chio said. “I think the first two or three meets, I was really shaky, and I think I’ve really gotten myself to calm down a bit.”
Chio’s mother, Sara, has made it to every home meet this season, as well as last week’s in Kentucky. She says it’s a lot of travel, but Sara wouldn’t miss it for the world.
Through a rollercoaster of a first season, Chio has thrived on her competitiveness and love for the sport but remains grounded in her humility.
“She has set such a high bar and a precedent, which she’s always done, but now, all of those fans now have that expectation of her too,” Sara said. “I honestly do not know how she has handled it so humbly and with such grace.”
Along with juggling training and competitions all over the country, Chio is a pre-med student with aspirations of becoming an orthopedic trauma surgeon. She does everything at 100%—academics and gymnastics—and strives for excellence, especially on Friday nights.
“She’s always been very headstrong with her gymnastics,” Sara said. “As the commentators say, she’s very much a perfectionist.”
That hasn’t changed since the beginning.
Chio was three years old when it became apparent she had skills that exceeded her age. At four, she knew she wanted to go to the Olympics, and at eight, she had her heart set on LSU.
Her Olympic dreams were put on hold in 2022 due to a stress fracture in her spine. Chio opted out of her first year of senior elite eligibility to prioritize being healthy for her collegiate debut.
She faced another setback in January 2024 when she broke her foot three days before the season-opener. After sitting out for six weeks, Chio went on to score a 10 on bars at the state championship and win at the regional and national levels.
Now, she’s fulfilled a life-long dream of competing on the collegiate stage, and her injuries inspired her to pursue a career in the medical field.
Stepping into the spotlight in front of 13,000 fans can be daunting to other athletes, but for Chio, she was born ready.
Cassie Rice, her former club coach at Gymcats Gymnastics, has been by Chio’s side every step of her junior career.
“One of the things that all of our really successful college athletes are, which she’s excellent at as well, is coachability,” Rice said.
To Rice, what sets Chio apart is her true love for performing and will to succeed, so she puts in the work that others won’t.
While her immediate takeoff into greatness shocked some, it’s no surprise that Chio is a perfect fit on the team.
“She’s super good at communicating, she’s easy to work with, and she’s a great teammate,” Rice said.
Still fresh on the scene, Chio has already made an impression on fans, notably with her sticks. At LSU’s latest meet at Kentucky, she stuck every landing and dismount in all four events.
In an interview with ESPN, she credited her club coaches for prepping her with drills, and now, it’s just muscle memory.
“I’m just honing in on doing my best gymnastics and then letting it come to me—not having to work for the landing and just having it come,” Chio said.
It’s part of why she owns the country’s second-best vault with an NQS of 9.940 on the event.
“She has set such a high bar and an expectation of herself, which she’s always done, but I think now it’s just a different limelight,” Sara said. “Now she’s got a team and the whole community behind her, which is amazing, but all of those fans now have that expectation of her too.”
Gymnastics at this level is almost all mental, so knowing how to block out the noise of a packed arena is necessary for high performance.
For a freshman, discovering how to do that can be a process of its own, but for Chio, it’s just a flip of a switch.
“She’s just always had that switch,” Sara said. “She can be all goofy one minute, and then the switch just flips, and she’s dialed in. It’s go-time for her.”
Every gymnast has a process. Part of Chio’s is simple: at the start of every meet, she looks up and finds her mom in the stands, and then she doesn’t look again.
With her strong willingness to succeed, Chio sees her No. 1 supporter cheering for her in the crowd as all she needs.
