LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne aka Livvy or ''golden girl'' of sports, managed to vault into the iconic Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue in April this year. The 20-year-old social media sensation called it a “dream come true,” in an Instagram post announcing her debut shoot.
With an insane number of followers and numerous brand deals with brands including American Eagle and Vuori, the social media star garnered 11 million followers across TikTok and Instagram. In addition to advancing her sport, Dunne has paved the way for female athletes. However, all of it was a little chaotic.
'Dream come true'
The 20-year-old called the opportunity a "dream come true," but it was very close to not happening at all. Swimsuit photoshoots normally last around a week, according to OutKick, which supervised the event. However, Dunne was only given one day by her coach when Sports Illustrated contacted her in the middle of the season. A tweet by Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, read, "Livvy Dunne, LSU gymnast, NCAA’s highest-earning female athlete, social media sensation, and our newest SI Swim '23 model is officially joining the pages of this year’s issue! Livvy is an absolute inspiration for other female athletes around the world and we couldn’t be more excited to feature her."
But what made it chaotic? Since Dunne did not want to miss this opportunity, she hopped on a plane to Puerto Rico in hopes that she'd get 24 hours of sunshine. With all her dedication she achieved the goal as she completed the shoot and she was back at LSU the next day.
'We want to inspire the younger generation'
In a video posted to the Fox News Instagram page back in April 2023, she said, "There’s a lot of young girls who look up to me, and I feel like a lot of young girls also follow Sports Illustrated. So, both of our brands, I think, align because we both want to inspire the younger generation."
"As a woman, no one really expected a gymnast to be at the forefront of name, image and likeness deals. Most people expected football, baseball, basketball. To be a woman at the forefront, and trying to make the playing field more level, is definitely a step in the right direction," she added.
