Olivia “Livvy” Dunne, a former LSU gymnast and non-stop social media sensation, performed a stunning split during her debut at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Runway Show in Miami back in May.
Readers of Sportsnaut are familiar with it.
Now, during an appearance on Stephanie McMahon’s podcast, Dunne is opening up about what she describes as the “iconic moment.”
She told listeners of “What’s Your Story? With Stephanie McMahon” that she was nervous about performing the stunt but became increasingly convinced that she should pull the trigger based on the support she had received.
“I’ve never walked a runway a day in my life. I’ve only ever walked in my bedroom mirror after watching the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show growing up,” Dunne explained. “I’ve literally never walked a runway.”
Livvy Dunne’s Iconic Split
Livvy decided to do the split after consulting with her sister and SI editor MJ Day, who encouraged her to have fun and show her personality.
“I kinda think dropping into a split would be fun and show my athleticism. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody do it,” she said of her mindset heading into the event.
Dunne, a 2025 SI Swimsuit cover model alongside Lauren Chan, Salma Hayek, and Jordan Chiles, described the experience as a fun moment in her post-gymnastics career.
“When watching a fashion show like Sports Illustrated, they wanna see personality, they wanna see movement, they wanna see you having the time of your life, because it really was in the moment. It was so fun,” she said.
“And yeah, I oiled myself up and dropped into a split … It was so much fun.”
It was so much fun for the viewers as well, Liv.
Livvy Dunne performs a split during Sports Illustrated runway show 👀pic.twitter.com/Tpb5zJCeEJ
— Deluxe (@yourboydeluxe) June 1, 2025
RELATED: Livvy Dunne Leaves Jaws Dropping as She Performs Split on Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Runway
An Amazing Moment
Livvy Dunne, as she is wont to do, captivated the audience at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Runway Show with her athleticism and charm.
Everything she did, the audience devoured. Especially the ‘oiling up and dropping the split’ part.
McMahon was also impressed, calling the moment “amazing.”
Despite performing the flawless split, things behind the scenes for the photoshoot itself were anything but perfect.
The peppy gymnast revealed in a video about the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit shoot that she was dealing with a knee injury, which made some poses rather difficult.
“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,” she said in an Instagram clip.
Livvy Dunne has been one of the most marketable stars in college sports history, thanks significantly to Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) payments.
A New York Post report has described Livvy as a “$9.5 million NIL legend.”
