For Olivia Dunne, Saturday (January 11) brought a bittersweet feeling. The Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad meet did not yield the result the defending champions had hoped for. The top program, Oklahoma Sooners, took the top position in the Quad meet. On the other hand, Olivia’s LSU Gymnastics had to remain satisfied with the second position. The program, however, went past No. 4 Utah and No. 6 Cal. But the Tigers’ fans thought that the result could have been better. It couldn’t take a full extension because of the judges’ issue. How? 

In the meet, Olivia showed up in three events to show her true form. In the uneven bar routine, she scored 9.725, the lowest among the top 6. As per the fans, she was “totally underscored.” The debate went long on social media afterward. Well, those were the bitter parts of the day. But what about the sweet element? Was there anything? Yes, there was. 

Olivia Dunne earns a special gesture from the young gymnasts

After the Quad Meet in Oklahoma, Olivia Dunne reshared a snippet on her Instagram story. The story displayed two kids following LSU Gymnastics’ Quad contest minutely on a large LED screen in the cozy corner of their home. However, they didn’t stop themselves by only following the routines on the screen. Rather, in the clip, they were seen emulating the gymnastics routines in the room. Wearing onesies, the kids rightly tried to perform the balance beam routine on the floor of the room. Guess who was on the screen doing the routine on the balance beam? Olivia Dunne. Coincidentally, it was the same routine where her score was termed sub-par. However, the budding gymnasts didn’t find any flaw in it. They ultimately tried to copy it. That scene melted her heart. 

Livvy couldn’t stop herself from resharing it. The Instagram handle, ‘brotherwelles’, actually shared the clip in the story and tagged Olivia and LSU Gymnastics. It added a nice caption with it: “DREAM BIG.” Livvy, in the meantime, added an extra layer to it, penning three words, “so much cuteness [emoji].” For her, there were a few more surprises. The same handle, ‘brotherwelles’ uploaded a few more clips into the story, framing those two kids.

In one such visual, those kids were heard saying, “We love you, Olivia. Good luck tonight on your meet.” They also posed together to form an ‘L’ shape to celebrate Dunne’s gymnastics program, LSU Tigers. Altogether, the kids enjoyed seeing their gymnastics idol performing on the balance beam. The 22-year-old influencer loved this. She enjoyed seeing the kids getting motivated by her avatar on the mat. Isn’t this the reason her mom claimed a factor behind Olivia’s fifth-year return? 

The influencer paves the way for future talents

Olivia Dunne wasn’t there at the Paris Olympics. She doesn’t compete in elite gymnastics anymore. In fact, she made her world in college gymnastics and on social media. Ultimately, for her, these two platforms have worked in tandem in making her a face. In her fifth year with the LSU Tigers, Olivia Dunne might utilize her social media fame to take college gymnastics to a different level. She could make the sport known to each level of society. As per her mother, Katherine Dunne, she has already tasted success in it. 

In her conversation with The Tribune, Katherine said, “When Olivia started social media, she always wanted to try to bring more eyeballs to the sport of college gymnastics. It’s really gratifying for her to see the appetite for it grow and the audience grow more and more each year.” Now, look where she is. Her millions of followers on social media surely know about her career. Thus, the sport has attracted a lot of eyes. Even the little kids are now following her. The clips seal that piece of truth. Remember, she has a national gymnastics championship and several All-American honor rolls beside her name. She doesn’t hold any global title. Yet the kids are emulating her routines on a day when she tasted defeat. Isn’t that her biggest success? Drop your comments about it.