Olivia “Livvy” Dunne had to fall in love with gymnastics all over again before she announced her decision to return to LSU for her fifth and final year of eligibility in July.
The 21-year-old gymnast — who helped bring the first NCAA Championship to LSU’s program in April — explained to The Post about the highs and lows of her gymnastics career, including negative comments from critics and what led to her decision to pursue a second straight title with the Lady Tigers.
“I really want to come back — well, first of all, we won last year,” Dunne said in an exclusive interview with The Post while promoting “The Money Game,” a six-part docuseries streaming now on Prime Video — which explores LSU’s Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) program for athletes, including Dunne during LSU’s title run.
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“It was so exciting for not only our team but the whole university. And that’s a feeling that I want to feel again. It was so special in the bond with the girls.
“I’ve really found the love, my love for the sport again last year, I’d say. So that’s one of the main reasons why I wanted to come back.”
Dunne said that there “definitely” were times when her love for the sport wavered, including her role as an alternate last season when she also dealt with injuries.
“I think [being in that] position is super hard because there’s a bunch of people telling you that you’re not important or you’re not really part of the team when you are,” she said, referring to negative comments from critics, including some who’ve questioned if she’s a real gymnast. “There’s more people that aren’t doing things than are. It’s hard, but the sport is competitive and being on a team is a healthy competition every day to push each other to be better.
“And there definitely were times where my love for the sport lowered. I mean, my sophomore and junior year was quite hard to balance. And with school and athletics, it was just a hard balance and there was nobody I could follow in their footsteps because nobody’s ever done it before. So I kind of just had to carve my own path and find out what works for me.”
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Dunne stopped by The Post Studios in New York. along with LSU guard, Flau’Jae Johnson, who is also featured in the docuseries, on Tuesday.
In it, the Sports Illustrated model discusses how she accepted a role as an alternate during most of her senior year.
“You’re happy for everyone else, but it stings for a minute,” the Dunne said in the show when she was left out of the lineup for a meet against Arkansas last season.
“I am the alternate most of the time and I’ve kind of accepted that role because everyone works equally as hard in the gym. You’re surrounded by so many amazing athletes and either rise up or step out,” she said.
Dunne wound up replacing KJ Johnson during that meet and helped the Tigers beat the Razorbacks — all while her boyfriend, Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, was smiling while watching in the stands.
LSU gymnastics coach Jay Clark praised Dunne for her leadership and reliability at any position.
“I know sometimes people think ‘Well she doesn’t do as much as her level of fame might indicate,’ but I bristle with that a little bit. Because she played a tremendous role and had been a great asset from a gymnastics perspective,” Clark said.
“She is one of the people that can be relied on to go in [at any position]. To be in the role that she is in says that she is one of the best.”
Dunne announced her decision to return to LSU in a video on social media, captioned, “Not Dunne Yet.”
That month, the New Jersey native told The Post that she wouldn’t pursue gymnastics beyond the collegiate level and ruled out the Olympics.