Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Popular LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne announced her retirement from the sport in an emotional video tribute to her gymnastics career. Her team’s season came to an end last Thursday when the Tigers finished third in the NCAA semifinals.
The 22-year-old Dunne, who came back for a fifth year this season, struggled with injuries for the second year in a row, missing out on all but four meets with the Tigers. She had not been able to compete since January after suffering an avulsion fracture of her patella.
She did, however, still get to be honored on Senior Night for the second year in a row after deciding to return for a fifth year and was able to be there cheering on her teammates at the 2025 NCAA Championship. The Tigers won the national championship in 2024, despite Dunne being out with injury during the competition last year as well.
In her retirement video, Olivia Dunne can be seen sitting in a theater as highlights of her long gymnastics career played on the screen. By the end of it, Livvy was in tears as she said good bye to the sport.
“Time flies when you’re having fun,” Dunne says in the video. “Something said when you’re enjoying yourself to the point that time seems to slip away from you. And that’s exactly how the past 20 years of this sport has felt. The highs, the lows, making the USA national team and competing for our country, every risk was worth the reward. Finishing my career over the past five years of the best university in the world has been an incredible journey, and I’m forever grateful.
“Gymnastics, you have filled my heart and shaped be a part of me. You’ve shaped me into the person I am today, creating memories and sisterhoods that will last a life support. You are my first love.
“To my family, especially my parents. Thank you for everything, for supporting me through it all, and to my childhood coaches from New Jersey and the LSU coaching staff. Thank you for pushing me to be great. and yes, time did fly by, and I will cherish every memory for the rest of my life. Thank you for everything gymnastics. You were so good to me.”