Olivia Dunne Shares Sweetest Throwback Pic From Toddler Gymnastics Days

The star LSU athlete was the most adorable little gymnast.

Olivia Dunne.David Livingston/Getty Images

Olivia Dunne began gymnastics at the age of 3, and today, the 21-year-old is now the highest-paid female college athlete in the country. However, it hasn’t been all smooth sailing getting to the top.

The 2023 SI Swimsuit model, who was photographed by Ben Watts in Puerto Rico earlier this year, joined the U.S. national gymnastics team when she was in her early teenage years, and while it certainly was an “honor,” it wasn’t the best fit. She took a different path instead: a full-ride scholarship to LSU and a successful (seven figure) living as a college athlete.

The New Jersey native has racked up a social media following of 4.4 million followers on Instagram and 7.8 million on TikTok. She’s constantly sharing career and life updates like getting a dog, turning 21, being featured in Forbes’s 2023 Top Creators List, as well as offering up gymnastics training videos and relatable college student content.

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A post shared by Olivia Dunne (@livvydunne)

Her most recent TikTok has got us in our feels, thinking about how little Livvy (as her followers know her) would be so proud of her adult self. The model shared a trio of photos with the sweetest message.

“I can’t fail her,” she wrote on top of a recent HD competition day photo. Dunne wore a bedazzled high-neck purple leotard and struck a pose.

“Fail who?” read the next slide, a recent snapshot of Dunne taping and adding chalk to her palms and wrists.

“Her,” she wrote on the final snap, an adorable baby photo of young Dunne in the gym wearing a bright pink velvet leotard, smiling bright and holding a trophy straight in the air.

“doin it for her:) #foryou #lsu #gymnastics,” she captioned the Oct. 23 slideshow.

“You’ve come so far. You’ve inspired me since I was just a little girl,” one fan commented.

“I just quit tumbling it was my 9th year it’s so hard to think that I’m done. U just give me so much motivation. I LOVE U,” another chimed.

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