LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne boasts a fervent fan base and finally competed in front of supporters in her fist event of the year.
The 20-year-old had been dealing with an injury, but on Friday she helped lift No. 8 LSU to victory over No. 9 Alabama by a score of 197.975-197.925.
Dunne did her part by scoring a 9.825 on bars.
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Olivia Dunne of LSU during a meet against Utah at Jon M. Huntsman Center Jan. 6, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
The Tigers are set to return to action March 3. Dunne has become a social media sensation and has more than 3.7 million Instagram followers.
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Dunne’s sister, Julz, decided to celebrate the win via social media.
“Don’t mind the screaming,” Julz captioned an Instagram story post showing a television screen with her sister competing.
Olivia Dunne of LSU cheers on a teammate during a meet against Auburn at Neville Arena Feb. 10, 2023, in Auburn, Ala. (Stew Milne/Getty Images)
Dunne is in her junior year at LSU and has had massive crowds show up to her meets.
The fan attention has prompted police to increase security measures at her meets, and LSU has implemented new security measures.
In January, Dunne tweeted that she appreciated the support from the fans but urged them to be more respectful.
“I will always appreciate and love the support from you guys, but if you come to a meet, I want to ask you to please be respectful of the other gymnasts and the gymnastics community as we are just doing our job,” she wrote.
Olivia Dunne practices on the uneven bars for the U.S. Gymnastics Championships at TD Garden in Boston Aug. 15, 2018. (Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Dunne is one of the most followed collegiate athletes on social media.
According to On3 Sports, Dunne has an NIL valuation of $2.3 million. She reportedly earns around $2 million with various sponsorships, including the activewear brand Vuori, American Eagle and Planet Fuel. Dunne is also signed to the WME Sports agency.
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When Dunne first started at LSU in 2021, she made the SEC’s First-Year Academic Honor Roll and was a WCGA Academic All-American. She was a WCGA All-American in the uneven bars and, in 2022, was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
