Upcoming Event: Women's Gymnastics versus LSU on January 10, 2026 at 3:00 PM
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Women's Gymnastics
vs LSU
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sooner Profile: Kiara Redmond-Sturms
March 24, 2008 | Women's Gymnastics
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Where others concentrate so much they almost become uptight, "Kiwi", as she is known by everyone in the OU gymnastics world, simply lets loose.
It's not that she doesn't care about competition. The exact opposite is actually the case. It's simply that she has found the approach which works best for her.
Kiwi's personality shows through in her routines, and her laid-back attitude has obviously worked. She was an All-American last year and has won 10 all-around titles this season, while also becoming the first gymnast in OU history to post two perfect 10s in a career.
There are a number of things she would still like to accomplish here at Oklahoma, but whether it is in gymnastics or something else, Kiwi will do it her own special way.
On how she ended up at Oklahoma:
"I got a full scholarship here and I really liked the atmosphere. A university atmosphere is what I wanted. In California, you have so many big universities and they're in big towns, so it takes away from the university atmosphere."
On her swimming and diving experience at Fullerton College:
"One of my old teammates also did swimming and diving at Fullerton and her head coach asked if she knew anybody who
 "You can't take a competition so seriously. You just have to let loose and have fun."
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On the similarities between the two sports:
"We do flips and stuff like that but the technique is a lot different. There are certain steps you have to take and certain ways your body has to be in order to do the flip and actually count it. Plus, you have to be able to not splash so much because they count that as well."
On how her approach to competition differs from other gymnasts:
"I just like to go out there and have fun. You can't take a competition so seriously. Yeah, it's important and you need to do your job because that's what you're here to do, but you need to have fun in the process because if you're so uptight you let that take control. You end up getting nervous and making mistakes you normally wouldn't make. You just have to let loose and have fun."
On how happy she is with her performance this year:
"This year, I'm very happy. I've set some huge accolades and I'm very proud of them. I've been working hard and the coaching staff has been very supportive in helping me a lot on form, looking at tapes from last year and really telling me what we need to work on."
On the team's performance and goals for this season:
"We would really like to be Big 12 Champions this year, walk away with a ring and end up in the Super Six. We really want to place high this year and kind of set fourth place as our goal. We placed eighth last year so moving up four spots would be fantastic for us."
On her excitement for hosting two postseason meets this year:
"We're really excited, for one, because during that time we're in school and studying for finals. It's really important that we're here because we're not missing school and we get that home advantage. We get to sleep in our own beds and get to be comfortable in our own atmosphere. That's the advantage that we have, but we're really excited because it's a huge meet and a big promotional opportunity for this program. We're really happy to be having it here and want everyone to come out and watch.
On having the support of their hometown fans:
"It means a lot. When we have the fans and the crowd behind us, it just pumps us up even more. We love pumping the crowd up as well and have been doing a lot more of that this year. We know the fans love it and want them to be excited and enjoy what they're watching. That's basically our job is to go out and give them a show.
On her proudest moment here at Oklahoma:
"The moment I'm most proud of is when we placed eighth as a team last year at NCAAs. I'm also proud of setting an accolade in history of getting two perfect 10s, which is very awesome. I never thought I'd ever do that.
"Competing here at OU, you can't really put it into words. You really have to be here and be surrounded by a group of girls who are really like your sisters for life."
On her plans for the future:
"I actually want to go to fashion school and get a degree in fashion. You don't really need one, but in order to start a business it's good to have that to back you up. I'll probably be moving to Kentucky or back to California, depending on whether the fashion business is best for me. My husband is coming back from Iraq so we'll make plans as well."
On how excited she is for the day her husband comes back:
"He's coming back either the end of March or sometime in April. It's hard to tell because they only know 48 hours in advance. We're just really happy for him to come home and be safe."
On how difficult this year has been without him here:
"It's been really hard. We've gone through our ups and downs. We got married very quickly and a lot of people were kind of unsupportive in that way, but now they see how much we really care about each other. He's coming home and we're really excited. It's been very hard but we're pulling through little by little and just taking it a day at a time."
On how much contact she has had with him:
"We talk on the phone and email. He's able to call me and our phone bill was pretty high the first time and we learned from that. He calls here every once in awhile, sometimes three times a day. It's fun and I love talking to him, but I miss him a lot."
FORGED: Episode 1
Sunday, September 21
FORGED: Episode 2
Saturday, September 20
FORGED: Episode 3
Friday, September 19
WGYM National Championship Celebration
Monday, April 28
