SI LifeStyle

We’d Never Guess This Would Be Olivia Dunne’s Sport of Choice If She Weren’t a Gymnast

The model and athlete teamed up with Nautica to answer the internet’s most burning questions.

Ananya Panchal

Olivia Dunne

Olivia Dunne.

Olivia Dunne first stepped foot into a gymnasium at the age of 3, and never looked back. However, softball will always have a special place in her heart. The LSU Tiger, who is the highest-paid female college athlete in the country, is currently halfway through her senior NCAA gymnastics season.

The SI Swimsuit model, who was photographed in Puerto Rico for her ’23 debut with the magazine and Portugal for her rookie feature, was recently named Nautica’s newest brand ambassador. She starred in a stunning, colorful campaign for the clothing brand’s upcoming spring women’s sportswear collection, which landed her on her first Times Square billboard.

In a recent Instagram reel, the 21-year-old played a rapid fire Q&A game with the company’s social media team and answered some of the internet’s most burning questions. The New Jersey native revealed that if she wasn’t a super talented gymnast, she might have played softball—a particularly cute answer, since she is dating professional baseball player Paul Skenes.

Dunne and the 21-year-old were first romantically linked last summer when she was spotted wearing the California native’s jersey at the college world series in June. In July, Skenes was the MLB’s No. 1 draft pick, and he’s now signed to the Pittsburg Pirates.

The social media sensation also revealed several other fun tidbits of info during the segment. Dunne’s go-to coffee order is a “brown sugar shaken oat milk espresso,” and she describes her personal style—when she’s not nailing a bar, beam or floor routine in a sparkly purple-and-gold leotard—as “comfy, feminine and chic.”

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Ananya Panchal
ANANYA PANCHAL

Ananya Panchal is a writer on the Lifestyle and Trending News team for SI Swimsuit, where she covers fashion, beauty, pop culture and the internet’s favorite personalities and trends. She joined the brand in 2022 after roles at Bustle, the San Francisco Chronicle and the TODAY Show. Panchal loves to write about fashion in all its forms—from standout runway moments and evolving street style to the best accessories to elevate each season’s wardrobe (she rarely goes anywhere without a stack of jewelry and a coffee in hand). A self-proclaimed beauty fanatic, she’s always on the hunt for must-have products and loves breaking down viral trends. Her favorite series at the moment is spotlighting female founders and the stories behind the brands they’ve built—especially those shaping the future of fashion, wellness and tech. She is based between New York City and San Francisco and, when she’s not writing, can be found rewatching One Tree Hill, playing sudoku, trying new restaurants or ranking her favorite Disney Channel Original Movies. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and journalism with a minor in criminal justice from Boston University.

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