Olivia Dunne Gives Comical Behind-the-Scenes Look at LSU Gymnastics Bus Ride

The fifth-year Tigers gymnast is making the most of her final year on the team.

Olivia Dunne / LSU Athletics/Getty Images

The LSU gymnastics season is not yet in full swing, but the squad is gearing up for what is sure to be a memorable one.

Last season, the team won their first National Championship in program history, securing the trophy after a series of hard-fought performances in Fort Worth, Texas. It was, of course, a momentous moment for the program—and for the many athletes (former and current) who have been a part of its history.

So come the spring semester, the Tigers have a title to defend. For the first time, they will enter the competition as the defending National Champions and look to retain their title for a second year running. Thus, though the season doesn’t officially kick off until Jan. 3 when they face Iowa State at home, the squad is already gearing up for competition.

LSU Gymnastics / Aric Becker/Getty Images

That means a variety of things. For one, they’ve been back in the gym for months now, practicing rote routines, choreographing new ones and adding new skills to their extensive repertoires. They’ve likewise already brought back their team bus trips, according to Olivia Dunne’s latest Instagram reel (though their destination is unknown) which she has seemingly taken down.

In the video, the 22-year-old gave her followers a behind-the-scenes look at bus rides with the LSU gymnastics squad. Dunne and two of her teammates mouthed the words to a clip from the popular television show Dance Moms. “Eyeliner might be a little hard on the bus,” one gymnast mouthed to the camera. “Bus driver, we’re doing eye makeup back here, steady on the road,” another mouthed as she applied eyeliner to Dunne. The latter then turned to the camera, displaying black eyeliner smudged around her eyes.

It was a comical look at a bus trip with the LSU Tigers. Though perhaps not realistic, it certainly proved that the athletes have a work hard, play hard mentality. Undoubtedly, the team atmosphere was one of the factors that brought Dunne back for her fifth year. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the content creator had the choice of returning to LSU for one more gymnastics season. Deciding to return wasn’t a given. The athlete has found major success under new NIL policies and built a major brand in the years since they took effect.

But she made the decision to return to LSU this year anyway—for the sake of her teammates, a shot at winning a second National Championship and for the fun of it all.