Olivia Dunne jokingly teases Olympic beach volleyball debut at LA 2028 Games after having ruled out competing in elite gymnastics

By Soumik Bhattacharya

Modified Sep 19, 2024 08:38 GMT

Louisiana State University (LSU) gymnast Olivia Dunne has jokingly teased a debut - in beach volleyball - at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. This came after an LSU combined fun session with the women's gymnastics team and the women's beach volleyball team.

During the session, senior women's LSU gymnastics members such as Haleigh Bryant and Dunne were present with LSU beach volleyball players and 2024 Olympians Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss.

In a video of the session posted by the LSU official Instagram handle, the athletes were seen trying to reverse their roles. Dunne and Bryant tried their hands at volleyball while Nuss and Kloth did their bit with some gymnastics moves.

Olivia Dunne commented on this post, teasing a beach volleyball appearance at the home quadrennial event in 2028.

"LA 2028 baby," she wrote.

Screenshot of Dunne's comment (Image via LSU Instagram handle)

Dunne has already ruled out her chances of making it to the elite gymnastics circuit due to the ankle injury that she had to nurture during her younger days. Thus, her chances of making it to the Olympics as a gymnast are practically non-existent.

Olivia Dunne opens up about the strict policies of the NCAA before the amendment of the regulations in 2021

Dunne at the Dickies Arena during the 2024 NCAA Gymnastics Championships (Image via: Getty Images)

Olivia Dunne has been one of the most profitable NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association) athletes. Besides her impressive social media fan following and remuneration from the social media handles, the 21-year-old earns handsomely from NIL (name, image, and likeness) brand deals.

However, the LSU gymnast recently reflected on the NCAA scene before 2021, when NCAA athletes were barred from receiving financial beneficiaries or gifts from any brands.

She was recently featured in the Amazon Prime Video documentary series The Money Game which featured Dunne and other collegiate athletes such as Jayden Daniels and Flau'jae Johnson. During the series, the 21-year-old said the NCAA athletes had to face severe consequences for accepting any sort of gifts post 2021.

She said (via Marca):

"You can't take anything. You don't want to risk it either because you can lose your NCAA eligibility, so it's just not worth it. Taking a free sweatshirt or a free something, it's not worth losing your eligibility."

However, the provisions regarding these NIL deals were amended in 2021, allowing NCAA athletes like Olivia Dunne to become profit-making collegiate gymnasts.