Olivia Dunne: Why did fan favorite TikToker and 'SI Swim' star quit gymnastics?
Olivia Dunne, the gymnast and student at Louisiana State University has a massive online and offline fan base. She gained a large number of followers during her time at LSU and while competing in NCAA Division 1. The huge fanbase came only after she decided to make a significant sacrifice to her career.
Dunne is six years younger than Simone Biles, a gymnast star who has a total of 32 Olympics and world medals. Dunne could have followed in her footsteps and gained more popularity but she decided on a different path for herself and opened up about her career choices.
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Why did Dunne quit gymnastics?
Dunne's early decision not to pursue elite gymnastics is because she wants to concentrate on her education and collegiate gymnastics. She might thus use her large social media following to develop her own brand, become a swimsuit model, and so much more. She abandoned the desire of competing in the Olympics at an early age.
Dunne recently spoke about her youth spent in gymnastics, her early entry into the sporting world, and her subsequent major decision to forego professional obligations in that sport at a young age. Dunne's talent in gymnastics was untapped as a child who liked to climb walls, hang from bars, and was always looking for new challenges.
'Definitely a sacrifice'
“Elite gymnastics [was] definitely a sacrifice. My childhood was full of gymnastics. The atmosphere in the gym was very intense,” says Dunne, who is still doing what she loves and had a difficult decision to make because gymnastics has always been a part of her life. “Our collective goal was just to make the Olympics. That was my dream growing up,” she told Yahoo Life.
The Olympics were on Dunne's radar, as they are for most American girls with an interest in athletics. Unlike Simone Biles, Dunne “just decided why not be healthy, go to school and enjoy college and gymnastics.”