Star gymnast Olivia Dunne hires bodyguard after swarming by rowdy fans

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Even superstar gymnasts need protection from their rowdy fans.

In the case of social media darling Olivia Dunne, Louisiana State University has hired a bodyguard for her after she and her gymnastics teammates were swarmed by overly passionate fans during a competition last week in Utah.

LSU gymnastics coach Jay Clark told NOLA.com that the hired protection will be stationed outside the team locker room as well as hotels and buses when they’re on the road.

“(The bodyguard) will be there to create a perimeter that keeps everyone safe,” Clark said. “We want to be accessible to our fans with autographs and kids, but we also don’t want to bury our heads in the sand. We want to make sure everybody is safe at all times.”

NOLA.com reported LSU is pondering changing its policy to address the accessibility athletes have to fans. Clark said the gymnasts have always been allowed to go up to the stands and interact with families after an event.

“We want to make sure we still provide them with that time with their families, but there won’t be any more going into the stands and there will be a limited amount of time that they can interact with the fans in the stands over the rail and that will be monitored closely,” he said.

Earlier this week, Dunne asked fans to “be respectful” after spectators carrying signs and cardboard cutouts chanted for her during the competition — this despite the fact she was not actually competing due to injury.

Video circulated on social media also showed a group of male fans chanting for Dunne while the team tried to exit the arena, forcing LSU to move its team bus to avoid them.

Dunne has a strong social media presence, with 6.7 million TikTok followers and 2.9 million followers on Instagram.

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