Olivia Dunne Shares Harrowing Fall While Practicing on the Horizontal Bar

For every perfect and polished gymnastics routine that makes it to a meet, there are countless hours of practice that goes on behind the scenes. And sometimes, things can go awry, as LSU gymnastics star Olivia Dunne demonstrated this week.

The 21-year-old senior shared a brief clip on Instagram late Wednesday night, mashing up a flawless land from a horizontal bar routine along with practice footage in which she seemingly lost her grip and went flying onto the mats, which we are reminded are there for a reason.

"There will be times in life where you crank that Soulja boy and there will be other times where that Soulja boy cranks you," said a soundbite that Dunne posted over the clip.

Dunne's Lady Tigers are getting ready to compete in the 2024 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships, which will kick off in Fort Worth, TX next week. LSU is currently ranked second behind Oklahoma, after winning the team's fifth conference title at the SEC Championship in New Orleans last month. The Tigers finished with the program's all-time top score of 198.075.

But regardless of how the championship shakes out, Dunne still has plenty to look forward to on the horizon. In May, she'll make her rookie appearance in the 60th anniversary of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, after making her debut in 2023.

"SI Swim means to me being comfortable in your own skin and being undeniably you, which is something I still work on to this day,” Dunne said back in November. "Body image is something that a lot of girls struggle with, especially young girls. In the sport of gymnastics, [body image is] a huge thing, and it’s something that I’m still working on to this day, being confident. But [Sports Illustrated] really helped me to see that it’s OK to not be perfect and to just be comfortable in your own skin."

It's unclear what's next for Livvy after she graduates this spring, but it seems like either way it seems like she's got a bright future ahead of her.