Painful injury couldn’t stop Livvy Dunne's SI Swimsuit cover photoshoot
'Fun fact: I was shooting on a fractured kneecap, so poses like the cover shot kind of hurt, but it was honestly so worth it.'
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A little thing like a broken kneecap wasn’t about to Olivia Dunne’s big moment.
The popular former college gymnast, who boasts more than 5.3 million followers on Instagram, shared that she was playing through the pain when it came time for her SI Swimsuit photoshoot earlier this year.
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Painful injury couldn’t stop Livvy Dunne's SI Swimsuit cover photoshoot Back to video
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In video posted on Instagram earlier this month, Livvy shared that she was suffering through her shoot in Bermuda – and it wasn’t just the 5 a.m. wakeup call, either.
The former LSU star, who graces the cover of the 2025 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, sustained an avulsion fracture in her kneecap earlier this year, not long before swim-suiting up on a tropical beach.
In fact, the snap used on the cover of the iconic magazine featured her kneeling in the sand.
“Fun fact: I was shooting on a fractured kneecap, so poses like this and the cover shot kind of hurt, but it was honestly so worth it,” Dunne said in the clip highlighting her photoshoot.
While the injury knocked Dunne out of competition at LSU, it didn’t hold her back at the shoot.
This year marks Dunne’s appearance in the SI Swimsuit issue since debuting in 2023. This year, Dunne was one of four cover models selected alongside actress Salma Hayek , model Lauren Chan and fellow gymnast Jordan Chiles.
During an interview with People earlier this month, Dunne shared her future plans with her gymnastics career at an end.
“I’ve always said ‘no’ to opportunities way more than I’ve said ‘yes’ — so, I’m excited to do everything and be able to travel and to be able to do things on my time because it’s always been around gymnastics,” Dunne told the outlet.
“My life has revolved around gymnastics,” she continued. “So, honestly, to be able to say yes to more things and potentially maybe do some more performing art stuff on screen — and I’m very excited.”
Dunne has a tabloid mainstay partly due to her relationship with Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes. The couple has been dating since their time together at LSU and she features snaps with him regularly on her social media accounts.
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