Kyla Ross facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kyla Ross
Ross in February 2018
Personal information
Full name	Kyla Briana Ross
Nickname(s)	Mighty Mouse, Silver Princess, Kyla Boss
Country represented	United States
Born	(1996-10-24) October 24, 1996 (age 28) Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Height	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Years on national team	2009–2016 (USA)
Club	Gym-Max Gymnastics
College team	UCLA Bruins
Former coach(es)	Jenny Zhang and Howie Liang, Valorie Kondos Field, Randy Lane, Chris Waller and Jordyn Wieber, Kristina Comforte, Dom Palange, and BJ Das
Retired	March 12, 2020
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 0 0 World Championships 1 3 1 Pacific Rim Championships 5 5 1 Pan American Championships 2 1 0 Women's gymnastics Representing the  United States Olympic Games Gold 2012 London Team World Championships Gold 2014 Nanning Team Silver 2013 Antwerp All-around Silver 2013 Antwerp Uneven bars Silver 2013 Antwerp Balance beam Bronze 2014 Nanning All-around Pacific Rim Championships Gold 2010 Melbourne Team Gold 2012 Seattle Team Gold 2012 Seattle Balance beam Gold 2014 Richmond Team Gold 2014 Richmond Balance beam Silver 2012 Seattle All-around Silver 2012 Seattle Uneven bars Silver 2014 Richmond All-around Silver 2014 Richmond Uneven bars Silver 2014 Richmond Floor exercise Bronze 2012 Seattle Floor exercise Pan American Championships Gold 2010 Guadalajara Team Gold 2010 Guadalajara All-around Silver 2010 Guadalajara Floor exercise Representing UCLA Bruins NCAA Championships Gold 2017 St Louis Uneven bars Gold 2017 St Louis Balance beam Gold 2018 St Louis Team Gold 2019 Fort Worth Vault Gold 2019 Fort Worth Floor exercise Silver 2018 St Louis Balance beam Silver 2019 Fort Worth All-around Bronze 2018 St Louis Uneven bars Bronze 2019 Fort Worth Team
Awards	See awards

Kyla Briana Ross Rittman (born October 24, 1996) is a retired American artistic gymnast. She is now an assistant coach for the Arkansas Razorbacks gymnastics team. Kyla made history as the first female gymnast to win championship titles at the NCAA, World, and Olympic levels.

Kyla was a top gymnast from 2009 to 2016. As a junior, she won two national all-around titles in 2009 and 2010. She also won the 2010 Pan American all-around title. In 2012, she was the youngest member of the U.S. women's gymnastics team at the 2012 Summer Olympics. This team, called the Fierce Five, won the gold medal in the team competition.

In 2013, Kyla won silver medals at the 2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. She earned these in the all-around, uneven bars, and balance beam events. At the 2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, she helped the U.S. team win gold. She also won a bronze medal in the all-around.

Kyla retired from elite gymnastics in February 2016 to go to college. She joined the NCAA gymnastics team at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She won titles on uneven bars and balance beam at the 2017 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship. Then, she helped UCLA win the team title at the 2018 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship. In 2019, she achieved a "Gym Slam" by getting a perfect 10 on all four gymnastics events. She later won the vault and floor exercise titles at the 2019 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship. Her final season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. After retiring from gymnastics, she became a coach.

Kyla's Early Life

Kyla Briana Ross was born on October 24, 1996, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her parents are Kiana and Jason Ross. Her mom has Filipino, German, and Puerto Rican roots. Her dad is of African American and Japanese descent. Kyla's father played minor league baseball for six years. She has two younger siblings, McKenna and Kayne. Her sister McKenna played volleyball for the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine team.

Starting Gymnastics

Kyla's parents noticed she was very strong and had lots of energy. They decided to enroll her in gymnastics classes. Kyla started gymnastics when she was three years old in Greenville, South Carolina. She also trained in Richmond, Virginia, before her family moved to Aliso Viejo, California. In 2005, she began training at Gym-Max Academy of Gymnastics. Her coaches were Howie and Jenny Liang. She trained with McKayla Maroney, who would later be her Olympic teammate.

Kyla quickly became a successful gymnast. At the 2008 Junior Olympic national championships, she won titles on balance beam, floor exercise, and the all-around. She also placed second on vault.

Junior Elite Gymnastics Career

Kyla's 2009 Season

Kyla started competing as a junior elite gymnast in 2009. In April, she competed at the American Classic in San Diego, California. She placed second in the all-around. She then won the all-around title at the U.S. Classic in Des Moines, Iowa.

In August, she competed at the U.S. Championships in Dallas, Texas. Kyla was in the lead after the first day. Even with a mistake on uneven bars, she kept her lead and became the junior national all-around champion. She also won titles on vault and balance beam.

Afterward, she was chosen for the 2009 Junior Pan American Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Aracaju, Brazil. This was her first international competition. Kyla and her teammates won the team event by a large margin. She also won the individual all-around title. In the event finals, she won gold medals on uneven bars and balance beam. She earned a silver medal on floor exercise.

Kyla's 2010 Season

In March, Kyla competed at the City of Jesolo Trophy in Jesolo, Italy. She placed second in the all-around. The next month, she competed at the 2010 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships in Melbourne, Australia. The team, including Kyla and Jordyn Wieber, won the gold medal. Kyla placed second in the all-around. She then won a gold medal on vault and silver medals on uneven bars and floor exercise.

At the U.S. Classic in Chicago, Kyla placed third in the all-around. She had the highest score on the balance beam. The next month, she competed at the U.S. Championships in Hartford, Connecticut. She was the defending junior national champion. Despite a fall on uneven bars during warm-up, she had the highest score on that event on Day 1. She fell again on uneven bars on Day 2. However, she finished strong on balance beam to win her second junior all-around title. She also won the national title on balance beam. She placed third on vault and floor exercise.

In September, Kyla competed at the 2010 Pan American Gymnastics Championships in Guadalajara, Mexico. Her team won by almost 20 points. Kyla placed first in the all-around. In the event finals, she won the silver medal on floor exercise.

Kyla's 2011 Season

Kyla competed at the City of Jesolo Trophy again in March. Her team won the event. She also won the all-around competition. Kyla won the gold medal on balance beam. She earned silver medals on vault and uneven bars.

At the U.S. Classic in Chicago in July, Kyla performed an Amanar vault for the first time. She won the all-around gold medal. She entered the U.S. Championships in Saint Paul, Minnesota, as the two-time defending junior champion. She had some struggles on the first day. On the second day, she performed well. She finished with the all-around silver medal.

Senior Elite Gymnastics Career

Kyla's 2012 Season

Kyla became a senior elite gymnast in 2012. This meant she could compete at the Olympic Games. In March, she made her senior debut at the 2012 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships in Everett, Washington. The U.S. team easily won the competition. Kyla placed second in the all-around. In the event finals, she won a gold medal on balance beam. She also earned a silver medal on uneven bars and a bronze medal on floor exercise.

Later that month, Kyla competed at the City of Jesolo Trophy. The U.S. team won easily. Kyla also won the all-around competition. She claimed titles on uneven bars and balance beam. She also won a bronze medal on vault.

Ross giving an interview after finishing second in the all-around at the 2012 U.S. Classic

At the U.S. Classic, Kyla placed second in the all-around. She performed well on the uneven bars, finishing second. The next month, she competed at the U.S. Championships in St. Louis, Missouri. She placed fourth in the all-around on the first day. She had the highest score on uneven bars that day. She improved her all-around score on the second day. She remained in fourth place overall. She also won the silver medal on the uneven bars. Because of her performance, she qualified for the Olympic Trials.

At the beginning of July, Kyla competed at the Olympic Trials in San Jose, California. She placed fifth in the all-around. She tied for first on the uneven bars. Afterward, she was chosen for the team going to the 2012 Summer Olympics. The team included Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, and Jordyn Wieber. Kyla and her teammates were featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. This was the first time an entire Olympic gymnastics team was on the cover.

London Olympics

Ross and the rest of the Fierce Five meeting President Barack Obama

In July, Kyla competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. She was the youngest member of the entire United States Olympic team. She helped the American team, called the "Fierce Five", qualify first for the team final. She competed on uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. In the team final, she helped the team win gold. They became the second U.S. team to win the team competition.

After the Olympics, Kyla appeared on TV shows like The Today Show. She also performed on the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions.

Kyla's 2013 Season

Kyla was supposed to compete at the 2013 American Cup but had to withdraw due to a bruised heel. However, she still performed a balance beam routine for the audience. In March, she competed in Europe. At Jesolo, she won gold medals with the team and on uneven bars. She also won silver medals in the all-around and on balance beam. In Germany, she helped the U.S. win first place. She also won the all-around. Kyla is the most recent gymnast to defeat Simone Biles in an all-around competition.

At the U.S. Classic in July, Kyla won gold medals in the all-around and on uneven bars. She also won a silver medal on balance beam. Then at the U.S. Championships in August, she finished second in the all-around. She won gold on uneven bars and balance beam. She was then chosen for the 2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. There, she won the all-around silver medal. She also received the Longines Prize for Elegance. In the event finals, she won silver medals on uneven bars and balance beam.

Kyla's 2014 Season

The all-around podium at the 2014 City of Jesolo Trophy (Ross center)

Kyla was chosen for the American Cup but withdrew due to a back injury. In March, she competed at the City of Jesolo Trophy. She won a gold medal with the team. She also won her third Jesolo all-around title. She won silver medals on uneven bars and floor exercise. The next month, she competed at the Pacific Rim Championships in Richmond, Canada. She won gold medals with the team and on balance beam. She also took silver in the all-around, uneven bars, and floor exercise.

In August, Kyla competed at the U.S. Classic. She finished first on balance beam. She was second in the all-around and on floor exercise. She placed third on uneven bars. Later that month, she competed at the U.S. Championships. She finished second in the all-around again. She won the national balance beam title.

On September 17, Kyla was chosen for the 2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Nanning, China. She competed on all four events in the team final. She helped the United States easily win the World title. She then won the all-around bronze medal. She also qualified for the balance beam final, where she finished sixth.

Kyla's 2015-2016 Seasons

On February 22, 2015, Kyla announced she would join the University of California, Los Angeles's gymnastics team. Her former Fierce Five teammate, Jordyn Wieber, was a team manager there. Kyla signed with the Bruins but waited until the 2016–17 season to enroll. She wanted to try to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Kyla started the 2015 season at the City of Jesolo Trophy. She helped the United States win a team gold medal. She also won the gold medal on uneven bars. She had an ankle injury that made training difficult. In July, she competed on two events at the U.S. Classic. She struggled on uneven bars. She did place fourth on balance beam. Then in August, she competed in the all-around at the U.S. Championships. She finished third on balance beam but tenth in the all-around. She received a spot on the U.S. National team.

On February 22, 2016, Kyla announced she was retiring from elite gymnastics. She decided not to try for the Olympic Games. Instead, she would focus on competing in collegiate gymnastics for the UCLA Bruins.

College Gymnastics Career

Kyla's 2017 Season

Kyla started at the University of California, Los Angeles in the fall of 2016. She joined the UCLA Bruins gymnastics team. Her first college competition was on January 7, 2017. She placed first on uneven bars. Kyla and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Madison Kocian were the first Olympic gold medalists to compete as NCAA gymnasts.

She scored her first perfect 10 on January 28, 2017, on the uneven bars. She scored another perfect 10 on uneven bars later. Two days later, she scored her first perfect 10 on balance beam. She finished the regular season ranked first in the country on uneven bars.

At the Pac-12 Championships, Kyla won the balance beam title. She scored the first-ever perfect 10 on balance beam at the Pac-12 Championships. She was also named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. At the NCAA Championship, Kyla won the national title on balance beam. She also tied for the national uneven bars title. By winning these two titles, Kyla became the first female gymnast to be an Olympic, World, and NCAA Champion. She helped UCLA place fourth in the Super Six.

Kyla's 2018 Season

Kyla scored a career-high 39.700 in the all-around. This helped UCLA win the Metroplex Challenge. She scored her first perfect 10 of the season on uneven bars on March 11, 2018. She received honors for her performance in the all-around and on uneven bars.

At the Pac-12 Championships, Kyla won the all-around and uneven bars titles. This helped UCLA win the team title. She then finished fourth in the all-around at the NCAA Championships. This helped UCLA qualify for the Super Six. She also finished second on balance beam and third on uneven bars. In the Super Six, Kyla helped UCLA win its first national team title since 2010.

Kyla's 2019 Season

Kyla helped UCLA win its first meet of the season. She tied her career-high all-around score and received a perfect 10 on uneven bars. She scored her second perfect 10 of the season on uneven bars. On February 10, Kyla earned her first perfect 10 on vault. The next week, she repeated the perfect 10 on vault. She also scored a career-high 39.850 in the all-around. She earned a perfect 10 for the third week in a row, this time on uneven bars. She then recorded perfect 10s on vault and uneven bars in another meet. She earned her first perfect 10 on balance beam of the season.

On March 16, Kyla completed a "Gym Slam". This means she earned a perfect 10 on all four events. She was named Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week for six weeks in a row. She finished the regular season ranked first in the country in the all-around, vault, and uneven bars. She was the only gymnast to earn first-team All-American honors in the all-around and on all four events.

At the Pac-12 Championships, Kyla scored a perfect 10 on both uneven bars and floor exercise. She won both event titles. She also defended her all-around title and led UCLA to the team title. She was named the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year. Kyla became the second gymnast ever to record two Gym Slams.

In the NCAA Regionals semifinal, Kyla led the team to advance. She scored a perfect 10 on vault. In the finals, Kyla earned perfect 10s on uneven bars and balance beam. UCLA qualified for the NCAA Championships. With her perfect 10 on balance beam, Kyla became the first gymnast to complete two Gym Slams in one season. During the 2019 season, Kyla set the NCAA record for the most perfect 10s in one season with 14. She also set the NCAA record for most consecutive meets with a perfect 10 with 10 straight meets. At the NCAA Championships, Kyla was co-champion in vault and floor. She became the second NCAA gymnast to be a national champion in each event.

Kyla's 2020 Season

Kyla helped UCLA finish second in the first meet of the season. Individually, Kyla finished first in the all-around. On January 12, Kyla earned a perfect 10 on uneven bars. This was her first perfect 10 of the 2020 season. Kyla finished first in the all-around for the second week in a row. She also won titles for uneven bars and floor exercise. On January 18, Kyla received a perfect 10 on uneven bars for the second meet in a row. On March 8, Kyla recorded her first perfect 10 on vault for the season. This was the 22nd and final perfect 10 of her career. As of 2024, Kyla is tied for the fifth-most perfect 10s in NCAA gymnastics history.

The 2019–20 season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision ended Kyla's gymnastics career. In April, Kyla was awarded the Honda Sports Award for gymnastics. Kyla was also named Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year for the second season in a row. She finished the season undefeated in the all-around for all eight appearances.

Kyla's Perfect 10 Scores

Coaching Career

For the 2020–21 season, Kyla stayed at UCLA to finish her degree. She joined the UCLA coaching staff as an Undergraduate Assistant Coach. On August 13, 2021, the University of Arkansas announced that Kyla would join their coaching staff. She became the volunteer assistant coach for the 2021–22 season. She coached alongside her 2012 Olympic teammate Jordyn Wieber. In July 2022, she was promoted to assistant coach.

Personal Life

On June 29, 2024, Kyla Ross married Justin Rittman. He was a former UCLA Bruins football player.

Competitive History

Competitive history of Kyla Ross at the junior elite level

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
2009	American Classic				10
	U.S. Classic				5		5
	U.S. National Championships				12
	Pan American Championships
2010	City of Jesolo Trophy
	Pacific Rim Championships
	U.S. Classic			4	4		8
	U.S. National Championships				7
	Pan American Championships				6
2011	City of Jesolo Trophy						7
	U.S. Classic					4
	U.S. National Championships						6

Competitive history of Kyla Ross at the senior elite level

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
2012	Pacific Rim Championships
	City of Jesolo Trophy
	U.S. Classic			4		5	5
	U.S. National Championships		4			4	6
	U.S. Olympic Trials		5				9
	Olympic Games				R2
2013	City of Jesolo Trophy
	U.S. Classic						12
	U.S. National Championships						7
	World Championships						5
2014	City of Jesolo Trophy					6
	Pacific Rim Championships
	U.S. Classic
	U.S. National Championships				6		5
	World Championships					6
2015	City of Jesolo Trophy
	U.S. Classic				15	4
	U.S. National Championships		10		12		12

Competitive history of Kyla Ross at the NCAA level

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
2017	PAC-12 Championships			12	6
	NCAA Championships	4	6
2018	PAC-12 Championships						10
	NCAA Championships		4
2019	PAC-12 Championships
	NCAA Championships				26	6
2020	PAC-12 Championships	Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA
	NCAA Championships

Awards and Honors

Images for kids

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  Ross on the uneven bars at the 2012 U.S. Classic

• 

  Kyla Ross on the balance beam at the 2012 U.S. Classic

See also

In Spanish: Kyla Ross para niños