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Former American gymnast Olivia Dunne shared how she got through posing for a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit photoshoot while suffering from a knee injury. Dunne posed as the cover model for the 2025 issue in Bermuda, where she was photographed by Ben Watts alongside fellow models such as Ilona Maher, Lauren Chan, and Kate Austin. Dunne was one of the four cover stars on the 2025 issue.
Dunne competed in collegiate gymnastics for the LSU Tigers. She was part of the squad that won the program's first ever national team championship in 2024, and was also part of the team that won the 2023-24 SEC Title. Dunne represented the Tigers for five seasons, and following the end of her collegiate career, she retired from competitive gymnastics.
In an interview with For The Win, Dunne said she had to go through the photoshoot in Bermuda with a knee injury, an injury which she picked up during her final season with the Tigers. She said:
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"I had no choice but to be in the zone because I was actually at the end of my gymnastics season, and we had a day off after the Auburn gymnastics meet that we competed at. Flew right to Bermuda. Did the photo shoot on a fractured kneecap. Didn't know I was shooting for a cover. They hadn't told me. So, I was just doing a normal shoot. Took some pain medicine for my knee. It was really fun."
"I love working with Sports Illustrated. They make me feel confident. I smiled. My smile makes me feel confident during my photoshoots, and even if I get nervous, my default is to go back to a smile, take a deep breath, smile. Get the shot I need. I flew back to school, and I was told that I got a cover. It was pretty crazy. It all happened so fast, and I was so excited."
Following her retirement from gymnastics, Olivia Dunne said she would try to explore the other opportunities that she couldn't before due to her commitments as a student-athlete.
Olivia Dunne made her debut with SI Swimsuit in 2023
Olivia Dunne made the cover of SI Swimsuit for the first time on the 2025 issue. This marked her third appearance on the magazine, after making her debut with them in 2023 with a photoshoot in Puerto Rico. She was one of the first collegiate athletes to be featured on the magazine.
SI Swimsuit editor-in-chief MJ Day also spoke about why he included Dunne on the magazine, saying that the gymnast dealt with her rise to fame and criticism in a great manner.
