Christina Lydia Desiderio (born August 22, 2000) is a retired American artistic gymnast. Desiderio was named to the 2015 U.S. Junior National team, after her performances at the 2015 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships.

Early life

Desiderio was born in

Independence Township, New Jersey Independence Township is a township in Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 5,469, a decrease of 193 (−3.4%) from the 2010 census count of 5,662, which in turn re ...

, on August 22, 2000, to Dominick and Carol (née Noll) Desiderio. She has an older brother, Dominick, who is two years older than her, and was a baseball player. She graduated high school a year early. Desiderio started the sport at Giant Gymnastics in

Hackettstown, New Jersey Hackettstown is a Town (New Jersey), town in Warren County, New Jersey, Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is perhaps best known as the home to the US headquarters of Mars Inc., Mars, Inc.. As of the 2020 United States census, t ...

, and trained at the club until 2010. She lives in Hackettstown, New Jersey, and commutes over an hour daily to train at Parkettes National Gymnastics Training Center in

Allentown Allentown may refer to: Places * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County * Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...

Gymnastics career

Level 10 and Junior International Elite

Desiderio moved up to Level 10 for the 2012 season. Throughout the season, she placed second in the all-around at States, as well as winning three individual titles. At Regionals, she tied for sixth in the all-around and was the beam and vault champion. She advanced to J.O.Nationals and was fifty-fourth in the Junior A division. In 2013, Desiderio competed at States only; winning the vault and floor titles as well as finishing fourth in the all-around. In June, she participated in a National Elite Qualifier and achieved Junior International Elite status. She competed at the American Classic at the Karolyi Ranch and was eighth overall. At the U.S. Classic, Desiderio finished tenth in the all-around competition. She competed at Nationals; finishing thirteenth in the all-around. Desiderio competed as an elite throughout the whole 2014 season. She requalified to elite status at the 2014 National Elite Qualifier in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

; despite already being qualified. At the 2014 U.S. Classic, she placed eighth in the all-around. She was eighteenth in the all-around at Nationals, after a tough competition. Desiderio started the 2015 season at the U.S. Classic, where she placed tenth in the all-around and was second on floor. On October 7, 2015, she announced her verbal commitment to the

LSU Lady Tigers gymnastics The LSU Tigers women's gymnastics team represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I women's gymnastics. The team competes in the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Jay Clark, who is coaching in his fifth season. T ...

program – starting from the 2018–19 academic year.

Senior International Elite

In 2016, Desiderio was named to the National Team and invited to compete for a place on the Olympic Team at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

trials.

Collegiate career

Desiderio graduated from high school a year early as a homeschooler and attended

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, where she was a member of the

team.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Desiderio, Christina 2000 births Living people American female artistic gymnasts LSU Tigers women's gymnasts Parkettes People from Hackettstown, New Jersey People from Independence Township, New Jersey Place of birth missing (living people) Sportspeople from Warren County, New Jersey U.S. women's national team gymnasts 21st-century American sportswomen