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Livvy Dunne finds balance online and in the gym
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BATON ROUGE - Finding the right balance can be key for anyone, but for a NCAA gymnast, it might be the most important part of their life.
LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne, known by millions of social media followers as Livvy Dunne, has finally figured it out in her senior and potentially final season as a Tiger competitor.
“This has been my favorite year at LSU so far. I mean every year has just gotten better. And the way this team gets along with one another is unlike any other team I've been on,” Dunne told WBRZ before the Tigers' final meet of the regular season.
The senior from New Jersey has been in and out of the Tigers' lineup since her freshman season when she was an All-American on bars, but near the end of her career at LSU, she’s found the right formula for handling her online fame and her in-gym competitive spirit.
“I just definitely didn't know the right balance for me as a person with NIL and, you know, balancing schoolwork and practice. I didn't know the balance in the past, but this year I felt like I had the best grasp on it,” Dunne said of her potential final season on campus.
Dunne exploded onto the NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) scene with her huge social media following and endorsement deals soon followed. She was the front-runner for college athletes with big-money deals and helped pave the way for the current success today’s athletes enjoy in the lucrative NIL landscape. However, Dunne admits that she wasn’t prepared to do both the business side of Livvy and the competitive side of being an LSU athlete.
“I've been so happy this year and I've just had so much fun and I feel like my approach was definitely different than the years in the past. My summers are usually pretty hectic. So it's all about finding a balance between you know, these brand deals that I put off during season and that I end up doing during the summer and staying in shape to be a D1 athlete. I mean, this year I just had a different approach because I treated it like it's my last and I mean it is. I'm a senior, so I really wanted to make the best of it. And I mean it really paid off.”
Dunne credits a dedicated effort in the gym lifting weights and a disciplined diet to her increased production for the Tigers and renewed joy in competition.
“Definitely just staying in shape going to the gym more,” Dunne said. “Fueling my body properly has been really a priority for me. I think it's helped tremendously. I think that definitely contributes to why this has been my best year yet.”
Dunne and the Tigers hope this is their best year yet. LSU is currently ranked second in the country and will finish the regular season at home against North Carolina before preparing for the SEC Championships down in New Orleans on March 23.
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