Olivia Dunne is perhaps the first name that pops up in everyone’s heads when talking about the LSU Tigers gymnastics team. However, Dunne had a teammate whose journey to LSU was almost surreal. At the age of 15, she was already training under Olympic champion Kim Zmeskal in Texas. “This sport is all I have ever known to do, and the opportunities that I’ve gotten and still receive outweigh anything,” were the words of the 15-year-old prodigy. Any guesses on who the gymnast is?

It is none other than Annie Beard. While Beard had a perfect 10 in her floor routine by 2020, her journey with Tigers has been quite the rollercoaster. In fact, her entire freshman year was spent on the sidelines due to injuries. However, after seeing her on the mat winning a national championship in 2024, the world sure expected her to stand alongside the Olivia Dunne-led squad this year. But surprisingly, Beard seems to be missing from the 2025 roster!

Silence reigns supreme on LSU mats as Annie Beard is removed

As the Dunne-led LSU Tigers team prepared to go up against Iowa State, Annie Beard’s name was missing from the 2025 squad. Beard who was a sophomore last year, despite not being a regular on the competition mats was a regular at practices. Her role, she once said, was “to be the best teammate” she could be. But now, her sudden removal has left the world at large confused. So what could be the cause for this?

The most obvious answer is injuries. At the LSU Gymnastics 101 event last month, Annie Beard fell off the beam just 17 seconds into her routine. While she managed to compose herself and walk away, this was not the first instance that such a setback had hit her. Did an injury sideline her again, or is there more to the story? The air around the absence is rather cryptic with both Beard and her LSU teammates including Olivia Dunne choosing silence. However, the mystery thickens when fans decide to look at Beard’s Instagram!

A perplexing Instagram post to thicken the plot

While the world brews in confusion, Annie Beard is playing into the mystery. So what was the post all about? The carousel of childhood gymnastics photos and recent LSU moments, paired with a red heart emoji as the caption. Now add that to her absence from the roster! Does this mean retirement? Maybe, but the plot gets better. On January 6, Beard shared a picture of the Functional 45 Training facility. So what is Functional 45?

Functional 45 is a well-known hub for rehab and fitness recovery. So now the question yet again is, is Annie Beard taking her time before returning to the mat? Or is she moving on? Beard has not made anything official just yet. But the fandom is already guessing! To add to the spirals of speculation, comments from her teammates, including Haleigh Bryant, Alexis Jeffrey, etc, are fanning the fire! The world is watching Annie Beard closely, and her next move might just be the biggest one yet.