Olivia Dunne is currently the highest-paid female NIL athlete, with a valuation of $3.9 million. This has largely been possible due to her huge social media following of 13 million+ followers on Instagram and TikTok combined. This mammoth feat has made her a familiar face to the public, opening opportunities for various brand deals and resulting in her massive net worth.

However, that doesn’t mean she is not a good athlete. The LSU athlete won the SEC and the NCAA title last season, making it the most successful season of her career. Now, after the release of the documentary involving her, she is all set to return for her fifth collegiate season. But the road to this has been filled with hardships and difficulties.

Olivia Dunne talks about the hardships involved in gymnastics

In the Best of Both Worlds with Flau’jae podcast, Olivia Dunne talked about the difficulties she faces while training in gymnastics. The athlete who is gearing up for her fifth season with Louisiana State University said that gymnastics is especially hard to train because of dealing with one’s own body weight. Livvy said, “Gymnastics is obviously your body weight and your job is to make it look easy. If you’re not making it look easy, then you’re not doing it right.”

She added that to be an elite gymnast, one needs immense strength in their body so that they can control it well while pulling off the moves. “It’s like every muscle in your body. I mean, from like your neck muscles to like muscles, you wouldn’t think of the need to be strong so that everything is precise. It’s not only cardio; it’s cardio, weight training, weight lifting, endurance; it’s just everything, and it’s quite difficult.”

Olivia Dunne then talked about a conditioning test LSU has been making the athletes do. It is similar to the training done in elite gymnastics, which is the path taken to train for the Olympics. The exercises are not only very difficult; they carry a severe punishment with them. Olivia said, “This year if you fail any exercise, you can’t train until you can pass so you’re in your best possible shape.” Thus, life as a gymnast can be very hard. Maybe that was the reason why Olivia was very close to quitting the sport altogether at one point.

Olivia Dunne talks about the time when she almost gave up on gymnastics

Before her eventual victory at the NCAA 2024 season, Olivia Dunne suffered from numerous injuries. These repeated injuries made her consider leaving the sport altogether to protect her own body. In episode 6 of the Money Game documentary, Livvy said that while she loves the sport, she must check that her body is fine in the long run. “I have two torn labrums (and) a torn bicep; I have the worst shin splints ever.”

Olivia Dunne believed that if she could recover in the off-season, there might be a chance of continuing. But at that point, things looked bleak for her. The documentary series was shot during the time she was unsure whether she would continue competing. However, she eventually returned in February 2024. Her return acted as a huge boost to the LSU Tigers, who ended up winning their fifth SEC title. But her monumental achievement at the NCAA came in April, as she earned LSU’s first gold medal at the 2024 NCAA championships. It was a great moment seeing her realize her dream after facing so many lingering issues. Now that she’s coming back for the fifth year, she’ll be looking to replicate her success for her last ride.