As USA’s highest-paid female college athlete, Olivia “Livvy” Dunne had a lot resting on her shoulders. Battling countless injuries after joining the LSU Tigers in 2020—who were yet to clinch their maiden NCAA women’s gymnastics championship—it was a road filled with sacrifices. However, despite emerging victorious on the other side this year, things were harder than she let on…

On the surface, Dunne is a superstar. A star athlete with a NIL valuation of $4M and 13.6 million followers across Instagram, TikTok and X. She’s a student who’s received SEC’s academic honor roll every year since 2021. Since debuting in the NCAA, consistency is one thing that kept the gymnast a notch above the rest. In 2020, she scored 9.9 on the uneven bars at the SEC Championships and led LSU to a second-place finish in the team event. Then in 2022, she matched her career-high of 9.925 on bars in the season opener against Centenary. Then came 2023, where she scored a season high of 9.850 on bars at the SEC Championships. However, as the 2022-2023 season progressed further, so did heartbreak.

There was a moment when she was left contemplating her future after several injuries—including two torn labrums, a torn bicep, and a stress reaction in her leg—relegated her out of seven of 16 LSU events in the 2022-23 season. “I love gymnastics, but I would also love my body to be in one piece,” the gymnast admitted earlier this year. Those feelings only compounded as she returned from recovery to compete in the SEC championships the next season. While the NIL athlete’s goal was to win LSU’s first title, watching her teammates excel during practice was quite intimidating. With stars like Haleigh Bryant, Aleah Finnegan, Konnor McClain, and Kiya McClain, it’s understandable why.

But yet, she buckled her shoes, held her head high and helped LSU ace their first-ever championship win, albeit with an intense doubt plaguing her…“At practice every day I look around, and I’m like, ‘everyone’s so good’,” Dunne said in Episode 3 of The Money: LSU that centers around the university athlete’s life navigating the NIL Policy.

However, the doubt also helped her push out the distractions and focus. So practicing with her fellow Lady Tigers became a competition.

“A healthy competition, of course, but it kind of pushes you to get better,” added the 2024 NCAA champion. While LSU gymnastics coach Jay Clark kept Dunne as his ace in the hole during the finals, she was the one who helped them make it to the national championships. Dunne recorded a career-best score of 9.900 on floors at regionals in Fayetteville, helping the LSU gymnastics team set a new school record. This performance deeply resonated with Dune’s confession. “I remember saying I want to be done, but winning is addictive,” Dunne was heard saying on the docu-series’ official trailer.

The Lady Tigers kept up the momentum going in the finals and showed exactly why Olivia Dunne complimented their skills. Johnson and Haleigh Bryant helped push LSU from third place to first. Kiya Johnson impressed on floor exercise, and especially her vault, successfully hitting the Yurchenko Double-Twist. Haleigh Bryant followed suit.

However, it was Sierra Ballard and Aleah Finnegan who came in clutch to hold off Florida, California, and Utah, securing their victory. Yet, instead of satisfying Livvy’s hunger for success, the win only fueled her desire to give it another shot as a fifth-year senior. Still, not everything about the victory was sweet….

Olivia Dunne faced criticism even in victory

The 21-year-old gymnast always had doubters who criticized the gymnast for the long, injury-related lay-offs in 2023. So when Dunne posted images with the NCAA title on social media, they criticized her absence from the finals. They called the gymnast a “professional bench warmer.” While Dunne ignored those comments in April, she recently hit back.

“My role on the team was like to step up when I needed to,” Olivia Dunne said on September 20, during her appearance in Best of Both Worlds with Falu’jae on YouTube. The NIL icon told Flau’jae Johnson that these trolls do not understand how the sports works. It’s the ignorance that gives them the “audacity” to say such things said the national champion.

However, it wasn’t just fellow LSU and NIL athlete Falu’jae Johnson who agreed with Livvy Dunne. LSU honored the Olivia Dunne Coaches Award “for being prepped to go in for her team at any moment”. So while Livvy initially felt initiated upon her return, it pushed her to help LSU win its historic first NCAA title.