She has taken the sports world by storm, has had about as many stories written about her as , and has crossed over into lifestyle.
Oliva Dunne is a college gymnast for LSU and now is her time to shine in a place other than on TikTok and Instagram, but on the floor mat, balance beam, parallel bars and other disciplines of the sport. For it is gymnastics season.
I came across LSU’s recent meet against Utah on the Pac-12 Network and decided to stay tuned in for a bit to see if I could, well, see her. Get a glimpse of this blonde beauty beyond her head-turning social media posts, and here’s what I saw on this evening.
She did not compete in this particular meet, so she was on the bench, her role apparently being one of support for her teammates. I don’t know enough about gymnastics to know if it means she’s a second-stringer (heck, is she any good!?) or if coaches rest players from time to time as managers do in baseball.
According to a post on Dunne’s website – livvydunne.com – she is on scholarship and that’s quite an accomplishment. According to a Google search, ” at the collegiate level, there are only a few gymnastics scholarships. Only the most talented of gymnasts receive any sort of financial aid, and only the NCAA sponsors gymnastics scholarships.”
Dunne was also on the SEC Academic Honor Roll for the 2020-2021 season.
So there.
During the meet it was hard to find her among her teammates. The Pac-12 Network focused on the those competing instead of always having a camera pointed at Dunne, as it should have, of course. Rather, it was brief glimpses of “is that her?,” with a couple of “okay there she is,” moments. She looked very pretty, but there were other pretty girls on the teams, too.
Dunne went up and high-fived all the teammates after each one completed their routines. I noticed she turned away and went back to the bench fairly quickly, though I am not sure if this is typical behavior or not. It was hard to draw any conclusions from it, tho I had to wonder if all of her attention – and $2-plus million in NIL money – has created some jealousy on the team. It’s impossible to say from a distance.
I had read reports of salivating teenage boys jamming into the arena calling for Dunne to the point of distraction but if that happened it was not evident during the broadcast. In fact, it looks like any other sporting event from that standpoint.
There was also no footage of the scene outside the venue in which apparently the immature boys – they need to learn how to act like they’ve been there before – created a scene as the LSU team was trying to get to its bus.
Perhaps I’ll get more of a look at “Livvy” during another LSU meet that I happen to come across on TV, most likely on the SEC Network.
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