Livvy Dunne opens up on injury which took away Olympics aspirations

Before Livvy Dunne arrived at LSU, she – like many young gymnasts – had aspirations to compete in the Olympics. She was gaining attention as a high schooler, even competing at the 2018 USA Championships.

However, Dunne battled an injury during the competition. She had an ankle injury in which a part of the bone died, she told Stephanie McMahon.

Dunne dealt with Osteochondritis Dissecans (OCD), which affects the end of a bone in a joint. Due to a lack of blood supply, the bone weakens and eventually dies – separating from the rest of the bone, according to Cleveland Clinic. However, Dunne never underwent surgery and still was able to compete at LSU, where she won a national championship.

“I was actually competing on a hurt ankle at the 2018 USA Championships and, yeah, part of my ankle bone died. … Yeah, it just died. So, my Olympic dreams died with it,” Dunne said on McMahon’s What’s Your Story? podcast. “It kind of healed a little bit. It stopped bothering me. I went to college after that, but it was so painful. That was one of my first real injuries.

“I’ve actually never gotten any surgery, which is kind of crazy for a gymnast. … I was like, I think if I just give myself time to heal, I can heal without surgery. So that’s something I take pride in. I have never needed surgery as a gymnast, which is very uncommon.”

Dunne is now turning her attention to life post-gymnastics after graduating from LSU. She was part of the Tigers’ national championship team in 2024 and chose to run it back for one final season in 2025 as the program looked to repeat.

In addition to her success on the mat, Dunne was also a trailblazer in the NIL space. She graduated with a $4.1 million On3 NIL Valuation, which ranked No. 4 in the On3 NIL 100. She landed notable partnerships with SI Swimsuit, Vuori and crocs. Dunne also had an agreement with Accelerator Active Energy, which played a key role in launching The Livvy Fund to support LSU athletes with opportunities and business guidance.

With her college career in the rearview mirror, Dunne has also been spending more time at Pittsburgh Pirates games supporting her boyfriend, Paul Skenes. The duo attended the All-Star Game earlier this week, attending the red carpet festivities in Atlanta before Skenes got his second consecutive start in the game.