Retired gymnast and social media star Olivia Dunne shares 'awkward' photos of herself from her recruiting trips to LSU! The Olivia Dunne Takes A Walk Down Memory Lane With ‘Awkward’ LSU Recruiting Photos first appeared on The Blast

Olivia Dunne revisited the time before she became an LSU Tiger!

The retired gymnast took a trip down memory lane by sharing pictures from her recruiting days at Louisiana State University. She shared the throwback snaps in a TikTok carousel, offering her 7.9 million followers a look at her journey before joining the collegiate gymnastics team.

Olivia Dunne’s ‘Awkward’ Days

Dunne posted the pics in response to a fan who asked if she was ever “awkward.” The first slide showed the athlete rocking her natural brunette hair standing in front of the LSU wall, dressed in a gray tank top, purple knee-length leggings, and flat white sandals with light brown soles. A swipe to the right saw Dunne in a dark gray sweater, along with black leggings, and sneakers.

In the third pic, Dunne flaunted her flashy diamond rings while clad in a royal blue hoodie. She was then seen flashing a big smile while at the LSU Tigers’ gymnasium, followed by an image of the former gymnast sitting on an alligator statue in her black top and shorts. She ended the carousel with a photo of her at the stands.

In the caption, Dunne noted she was “homeschooled.”

Fan Reactions

The update racked up over 1.5 million views, in addition to nearly 100,000 likes. One follower commented, “It’s crazy how these photos were taken 20 years ago,” which Dunne liked.

Another person wrote, “These are legendary pulls from the archive,” a third user added, “Girrlllllllll you were so adorable you probs just thought you were awkward.”

• Olivia Dunne is currently dating Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, who fans think is a “lucky man.”
• She celebrated his MLB call-up in tight leggings.
• She also loves spending time with him at the beach, just like the time she rocked a red bikini.
• In a social media post, she called him her “favorite date.”
• Last year, the pair escaped a terror attack in New Orleans.
• They like boating together, where Dunne flaunts her bikini body.

Olivia Dunne’s Road To Becoming An LSU Tiger

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Dunne announced her verbal commitment to LSU in 2017, as seen in an old but gold Instagram post. Rocking the school’s LSU shirt, a cap, and black leggings, the content creator held three round purple balloons as she stood next to gold balloons spelling out, “LSU.”

“I am very excited to announce I have verbally committed to LSU on a full athletic scholarship!” she wrote in the caption. “I can’t wait to join such an amazing team. GEAUX TIGERS!”

Dunne arrived in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in the summer of 2020 during the pandemic. She was as a former junior national team member with a sizable social media following, which only grew during her time at LSU. Due to her fame, the former gymnast didn’t have a normal college experience.

“I struggled, especially at first, with the amount of eyes on me,” Dunne told ESPN. “I was 18 years old when everything changed, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe, I felt like I couldn’t make a mistake. But something you learn on social media is you will get hate and you will get people that are bitter towards you, especially when you have success.”

While she “struggled” with her social media fame at first, Dunne eventually saw it as a “blessing.”

“I think that having the eyes on me has been such a blessing in my life, and I feel like it’s translated over into eyes on the sport of gymnastics, which was a huge deal to me and a huge reason why I kept coming back for more,” she said. “Watching the growth of the sport, and women’s sports overall, has meant so much to me.”

Remembering Her Freshman Year

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Dunne earned All-America honors on bars during her freshman season. Just like today, she loves posting photos and videos of her life. At the time, it was about her life in college.

“I love to use my platform to give LSU the hype,” Dunne said February 2021to Baton Rouge-area publication InRegister. “They deserve it. This is truly the best school ever, and I always get so many likes whenever I post about LSU.”

On July 1, 2021, after Dunne’s freshman year, things changed for college athletes. The NCAA’s NIL rules officially went into effect, allowing athletes across sports and the country to profit from their name, image, and likeness. Many wasted no time, signing endorsement deals as soon as the rule took effect, which was at midnight.

Being The Most Followed Student Athlete On Social Media

At the time, Dunne, who was and still the most followed NCAA athlete on social media, was featured on a billboard sponsored by LSU in Times Square. Her TikTok video she posted of herself with the billboard has 19 million views.

Due to her popularity, she received countless sponsorship offers and deals. Although, she admitted to having a “super hard time” as she has no one she could go to for advice.

“There definitely were some learning curves, and it took a long time to learn how to balance it all,” Dunne recalled. “Especially between my sophomore and junior year, that was a super hard time because I just didn’t know what to do and there were nobody’s footsteps to follow in. So I kind of had to learn on my own how to navigate all this.”

In April of last year, Dunne’s college career came to an end when the Tigers finished third in the NCAA semifinals. She had been injured at the time and unable to compete. Sharing a message on X, Dunne bid her favorite sport goodbye.

“Couldn’t have asked for a better 5 years! Thank you, LSU,” she wrote shortly after the meet. She made a second update, saying “[peace] out gymnastics it’s been real… and of course forever LSU!”

The Olivia Dunne Takes A Walk Down Memory Lane With ‘Awkward’ LSU Recruiting Photos first appeared on The Blast