Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Olivia Dunne was one of the many notable names who flocked to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby last week. The former LSU gymnast got the chance to usher in a race with an intro that fell a little bit flat, and she acknowledged that reality while offering an explanation for the fairly awkward moment.
It’s been five years since Olivia Dunne joined the gymnastics team at LSU before expertly leveraging the attention she received en route to becoming an internet sensation; she currently boasts 8 million followers on TikTok and another 5.3 million on Instagram.
It’s unclear what the future holds for the 22-year-old who recently announced her decision to retire from competitive gymnastics after wrapping up her time with the Tigers.
In a GQ profile covering her relationship with Pirates pitcher Paul Skeenes, she said she was studying technology management as a graduate student in Baton Rouge, but it seems safe to assume social media will remain her primary outlet for the foreseeable future based on how far it’s taken her to date.
Last week, Dunne headed to Louisville ahead of the Kentucky Derby and was at Churchill Downs on Friday for the Kentucky Oaks, the race that’s traditionally been held on the day before the main event since it was run for the first time in 1875.
Plenty of celebrities have been tapped to issue the “Riders up” announcement before those races (Simone Biles was picked to do the honor ahead of the Kentucky Derby this year), and Dunne got the nod for the 2025 edition of the Kentucky Oaks.
While she certainly didn’t butcher the intro, plenty of people who watched it were underwhelmed by the fairly stilted delivery of the brief script she was clearly reading off when she uttered it.
🗣️ RIDERS UP!
Livvy Dunne sets us up for the 2025 Kentucky Oaks. 🌸 pic.twitter.com/YPfsnNJWg7
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) May 2, 2025
That includes one person who went out of their way to air their grievances after Dunne showed off her Kentucky Oaks outfit on TikTok with a comment that elicited a response from Livvy, who admitted she struggled a bit because she couldn’t hear herself talk thanks to “the echo of the microphone.”
TikTok
Things definitely could have gone much worse, but I guess that will still be a learning experience.