Kia Byers is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 sprint kayaker

Canoe racing

This article discusses canoe sprint and canoe marathon, competitive forms of canoeing and kayaking on more or less flat water. Both sports are governed by the International Canoe Federation ....

 who has competed since 2000. She won a bronze medal in the K-1 4 x 200 m event at the 2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 2009 International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint World Championships were held 12–16 August 2009 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, on Lake Banook. The Canadian city was selected to host the championships in October 2003 after having done so previously in 1997...

 in Dartmouth

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Dartmouth founded in 1750, is a community and planning area of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. Located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes after the large number of lakes located in the city.On April 1, 1996, the provincial...

.

Byers also won a gold medal at the 2007 Pan American Games

2007 Pan American Games

The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to July 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Committees competed in 332 events in 34 sports and in...

 in the women's K-2 500 m event, alongside Marie-Christine Schmidt

Marie-Christine Schmidt

Marie-Christine Schmidt is a Canadian sprint kayaker. She won a gold medal at the 2007 Pan American Games in the women's K-2 500 metres event, alongside Kia Byers....

.

She placed first in the K-2 500 m at the first set of national team trials held in May 2007. Byers competed at the 2005 Junior World Championships in Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

, where she finished eighth in the K-2 1000 m and sixth in the K-4 500 m events. She made her international debut at the 2005 Pan American Canoe Championship in Lac Beauport, Quebec.

Kia has been a carded member of the Canadian National team since 2006 competing at the World Championships since 2009.
She has been number one in the K-1 200m event since 2009, racing it at each World Championships since.

Byers has attended both the University of Regina

University of Regina

The University of Regina is a public research university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchewan as a junior college in 1925, and was disaffiliated...

 and the University of Saskatchewan

University of Saskatchewan

The University of Saskatchewan is a Canadian public research university, founded in 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. An "Act to establish and incorporate a University for the Province of Saskatchewan" was passed by the...

and
hopes to become a teacher when
she finishes her sporting career.