Gymnastics

LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne has started a fund to help connect other female athletes at the school with name, image and likeness deals.

Speaking to Cara O'Bleness of SI.com, Dunne announced the launch of The Livvy Fund to help advance her business dealings and educate female athletes on marketing partnerships.

"I really just hope that [The Livvy Fund] is the first of many," Dunne said. "I really hope to get as many women student athletes on board as I can. I want to continue to elevate women's sports as a whole because they really deserve the same publicity as the men's. We do equal work, we put in equal time in our facilities every day and in school, so I feel like it would be right for this to be equal."

Dunne's fund is working in partnership with Bayou Traditions, the official collective for LSU athletics. Bayou Traditions launched in January and raises funds to provide NIL opportunities to select Tigers athletes.

O'Bleness noted "as much as" 66 percent of the money raised by NIL collectives goes to male athletes.

Dunne has the second-highest NIL valuation in the country at $3.5 million, per On3.com. Only Bronny James at $6.7 million ranks ahead of her.

The 20-year-old has endorsement deals with several high-profile companies, including Motorola, EA Sports and Body Armor. She was also featured in this year's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

Dunne is preparing for her senior year at LSU. Her junior season for the gymnastics team got off to a late start as she was recovering from labrum, biceps and foot injuries.

LSU's women's team finished fourth at the 2023 gymnastics championship in April. Dunne didn't compete for the Tigers in the semifinals or national championship.

For the first time in two years, legendary American gymnast Simone Biles is set to return to competitive gymnastics.

According to Will Graves of the Associated Press, USA Gymnastics announced Wednesday that the seven-time Olympic medalist will compete in the U.S. Classic on Aug. 5 in the Chicago area.

It will mark Biles' first foray back into competitive gymnastics since the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which actually took place in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 26-year-old Biles won gold in the team event, all-around, vault and floor exercise at the 2016 Olympics, and she was expected to have a similar haul at the 2020 Games.

Between the 2016 and 2020 Olympics, Biles won two world championship gold medals in the team event, all-around, vault and floor exercise, establishing herself as the unquestioned top gymnast in the world and one of the all-time greats.

Things did not go according to plan in Tokyo, though, as Biles dealt with a bout of the "twisties," which is a phenomenon in which gymnasts lose their sense of direction and feeling in the air.

Biles struggled and decided to sit out some of her scheduled Olympic events in order to focus on her mental health, including the all-around.

She still won a silver medal as part of the team event, though, and managed to return for her final individual event, winning bronze on the balance beam.

Biles has largely stayed out of the gymnastics spotlight since then, but returning at the U.S. Classic could be a sign that she intends to try to make the American team at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Graves noted that Biles similarly took two years off after the 2016 Summer Olympics before returning at the 2018 U.S. Classic, which set the stage for her to compete in Tokyo.

Biles has not publicly committed to the Paris Olympics, but a strong performance in the U.S. Classic could pave the way for her to also compete in the national championships in San Jose, California, in late August.

Joining Biles at the U.S. Classic will be Sunisa Lee, who won gold in the Olympic all-around in 2020 and has competed collegiately at Auburn since then.

LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne is one of the featured athletes in the 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

SI made the announcement on Thursday, along with an early look at some of the pictures that will be featured in the magazine.

Livvy Dunne, LSU gymnast, NCAA’s highest-earning female athlete, social media sensation, and our newest SI Swim '23 model is officially joining the pages of this year’s issue! Livvy is an absolute inspiration for other female athletes around the world and we couldn’t be more… pic.twitter.com/rxcaOH2Yp3

— Sports Illustrated Swimsuit (@SI_Swimsuit) April 27, 2023

Dunne recently finished her third season on the Tigers gymnastics team. She missed most of the year due to a stress reaction in her foot, but made her return on Feb. 24 against Alabama.

The 20-year-old was held out of the NCAA tournament after not competing following the second round of the regionals. Head coach Jay Clark didn't provide a reason for her absence, though she was also dealing with two torn labrums and a torn biceps at one point early in the season.

LSU advanced to the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive year and made it to the Four on the Floor for the second time in school history (2019).

Dunne is also one of the most marketable athletes in college sports thanks to her large social-media presence. Her $3.5 million name, image and likeness valuation ranks second, behind Bronny James at $7.4 million, per On3.com.

The 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue featuring Dunne will be released on May 12.

Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles and Houston Texans safety Jonathan Owens are married.

Biles and Owens confirmed their nuptials on Twitter on Saturday, along with a series of pictures from their wedding. Biles also changed her name on Twitter to Simone Biles Owens.

I do 🤍 officially owens 🤍@jjowens_3 pic.twitter.com/11NFWy5D8d

— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) April 22, 2023

My person, forever ❤️💍#TheOwens#itsofficial pic.twitter.com/fGTfRz720D

— Jonathan Owens (@jjowens_3) April 22, 2023

The marriage certificate in the photo from Owens' tweet shows the couple officially tied the knot on Friday.

Biles and Owens went public with their relationship in August 2020 when she posted pictures of them together on Instagram. She announced their engagement in February 2022.

Per Nicholas Rice of PEOPLE, Biles and Owens met on a dating app in March 2020.

Biles, who celebrated her 26th birthday on March 14, is one of the most decorated gymnasts of all time. She has won seven career Olympic medals, including four gold medals at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Owens is entering his fifth season with the Texans. He originally signed with the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2018 before moving to Houston early in the 2019 season.

Every time she steps up to compete, University of Florida gymnast Trinity Thomas is chasing perfection.

And on Saturday she reached that peak more than nearly everyone in NCAA history.

After scoring a perfect 10.0 on her final vault during the NCAA women's gymnastics championship in Fort Worth, Texas, Thomas tied the NCAA record for the most career 10s with 28. She landed a Yurchenko 1.5 on the attempt.

Thomas is now in a three-way tie with former Kentucky gymnast Jenny Hansen and UCLA's Jamie Dantzscher.

PERFECT 10.@Gym_Trin's last career vault, is perfect.

📺https://t.co/4l8IJLxvOy #GoGators | #WeChomp pic.twitter.com/oKFwoaRfy1

— Gators Gymnastics (@GatorsGym) April 15, 2023

After injuring her lower leg earlier in the regional round on March 31, it was unclear whether Thomas' feat would be possible. But she went on to compete on the vault and uneven bars and nearly managed to lead the Gators to their fifth national title and first since 2015.

Florida was edged out by Oklahoma by just .150 points for its sixth championship.

Thomas ends her career as one of the NCAA's most decorated gymnasts. She won the NCAA all-around title, individual national titles on bars and floor and the 2022 Honda Sport Award for gymnastics.

"It's just been the best time of my life, honestly," Thomas said following the conclusion of the championship. "The fifth year has been a blessing, and I'm going to miss gymnastics so much. But I couldn't be more thankful."

Olympic gold medalist gymnast Sunisa Lee announced Monday that she will end her college career at Auburn because of a kidney issue.

pic.twitter.com/N3itqSKu6A

— Sunisa lee (@sunisalee_) April 3, 2023

Lee won the gold medal in the all-around competition, a silver medal in the team competition and a bronze medal in the uneven bars at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Lee has also had success at the collegiate level, winning gold in the 2022 NCAA Championships in the balance beam and silver in the all-around.

She announced on social media in November that this would be her final season at Auburn, with the plan to shift her focus to reaching the 2024 Paris Olympics.

thank you to my @AuburnU family, you’ll forever have a special place in my heart. let’s make this season the best one yet. WAR EAGLE! pic.twitter.com/8ezp9WdM04

— Sunisa lee (@sunisalee_) November 15, 2022

"After this season, I will be returning to elite gymnastics," she said. "I have my sights set on Paris in 2024, and I know what I have to do to get there. I'm looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and putting in the work."

She became the first Hmong American to participate in an Olympics and spoke before the 2020 Games (which were held in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic) about how much that opportunity meant to her.

"[It] means a lot to the Hmong community ... and to just be an inspiration to other Hmong people [means] a lot to me too," she told Karen Mizoguchi of People.

Lee hasn't participated in international gymnastics since the 2020 Games. She was a part of the 30th season of Dancing with the Stars in 2021, finishing fifth.

"I appreciate all the love and support, and I want to especially thank my doctors, coaches, and the Auburn medical staff for their care during this time," Lee wrote in Monday's post.

"War eagle forever."

LSU gymnast KJ Johnson's celebration during the team's victory over Florida on Friday came at a price.

Head coach Jay Clark announced this week that Johnson will miss four to six weeks after breaking a metatarsal bone in her foot when she stepped off a mat wrong while celebrating with teammates.

Injuries are becoming a significant problem for the Tigers with three meets left in the regular season before the SEC championships.

In addition to Johnson's injury, Clark said all-around gymnast Alyona Shchennikova could miss Friday's meet against Alabama in Tuscaloosa with a groin injury.

"Now we're at a point where we're really out of bodies," Clark said.

LSU has been competing without Cammy Hall because of an Achilles injury and Annie Beard, who has a shoulder injury. Kiya Johnson tore her Achilles in a Jan. 13 meet at Kentucky.

Olivia Dunne, who hasn't competed so far this season because of injury, may compete on Friday.

The results this season have shown the Tigers are operating shorthanded. They lost their first three events, though two of those defeats came against teams currently ranked in the top four nationally (No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 4 Utah).

LSU has won three of its past five meets, with the Feb. 17 victory over No. 2 Florida being its high-water mark of the season.

Friday's meet with Alabama will be LSU's final conference event before the SEC championships on March 18. The Tigers will host the Podium Challenge against California, George Washington and Washington on March 3 and West Virginia on March 10.

Johnson could be back for the NCAA regionals that will take place on March 30 and April 1 if LSU makes the field. The NCAA championships are scheduled for April 14-15 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Olympic gold medalist Sunisa Lee turned in two dazzling performances on Friday night for Auburn's gymnastics team against Alabama.

The 19-year-old earned a perfect 10 on the uneven bars.

ICYMI: @sunisalee_ 's first 🔟 of the season on bars!!#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/ArtUAwoj7Z

— Auburn Gymnastics (@AuburnGym) February 4, 2023

She got her second perfect score of the night one hour later on the balance beam.

SUNI LEE IS UNREAL 😱

She has her second 🔟 of the night‼️ pic.twitter.com/nbYApSkX2W

— ESPN (@espn) February 4, 2023

Having already established herself as a gymnastics superstar at the 2020 Olympics, Lee added to her resume with Friday's performance.

Fans on Twitter are already declaring Lee the GOAT in just her sophomore year at Auburn.

🐐 WDE

— Matt Brown (@mattbrown0000) February 4, 2023

https://twitter.com/fee_alii/status/1621754548208701441

🐐

— Shaq McDaniel (@IrunonDeisel) February 4, 2023

https://twitter.com/TheTrueDiVito/status/1621716721575907328

https://twitter.com/UtahHusker/status/1621835740702461959

🤯🤯🤯🤯

— JR_Alexander (@AlexanderDelPa1) February 4, 2023

This was an absolutely amazing routine! Well deserved!

— Teresa (@Teresa7277) February 4, 2023

https://twitter.com/hyunsukiex/status/1621729149110083584

Incredible! The beam performance was next-level clutch.

— Savoy Special (@SavoySpecial1) February 4, 2023

icon

— Trinity Thomas All Around Champion (@gymnastinator) February 4, 2023

That was clearly an 11.0. She got robbed. 😂😂

— Big_Daddy_Sunshine (@KarimAbdurRahi2) February 4, 2023

Despite Lee's best efforts, the Tigers were beaten by their SEC rival in the overall competition in a razor-thin contest that ended 197.850-197.700 in favor of Alabama.

Lee now has three perfect-10 scores this season. Her first was on the balance beam against No. 1 Oklahoma at the Super 16 event in Las Vegas on Jan. 7. She medaled twice at the NCAA Championships last year as a freshman, including a gold on the balance beam.

At the 2020 Tokyo Games, Lee became the fifth consecutive American to win gold in the women's all-around. She finished with a score of 57.433, edging out Brazil's Rebeca Andrade by .135 points.

The Tigers entered Friday's event ranked No. 6 in the nation, having won their previous two matches against North Carolina State and Arkansas.

Lee and the rest of the Auburn gymnastics team have five more head-to-head matches this season before the SEC tournament on March 18. The Tigers will host No. 9 LSU on Feb. 10.

USWNT winger Megan Rapinoe and Olympic gymnast Simone Biles were among the recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom from United States President Joe Biden on Thursday.

Megan Rapinoe (@mpinoe) receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom pic.twitter.com/GGc4JGwJxg

— CSPAN (@cspan) July 7, 2022

.@Simone_Biles receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom. pic.twitter.com/5MPnIzDWTW

— CSPAN (@cspan) July 7, 2022

They were among 17 recipients of the award on Thursday, joining former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, actor Denzel Washington—who couldn't attend Thursday's ceremony but will receive the award at a later date—Sandra Lindsay, who was the first American to receive the COVID-19 vaccine outside of clinical trials, and posthumous awards for Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and former Republican Sen. John McCain.

Rapinoe, 37, is a two-time World Cup champion, two-time Olympic medalist (gold in 2012, bronze in 2021) and was named both the Ballon d'Or Feminin and Best FIFA Women's Player in 2019.

On the pitch, she is one of most successful and iconic soccer players in the history of the sport. Off the pitch, she has been a vocal advocate for LGBQT+ rights and equal pay for women's soccer players.

"Beyond the World Cup titles and the Olympic medals, Megan is a champion for [an] essential American truth that everyone—everyone—is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect," Biden said in his speech.

Rapinoe had the initials "BG" stitched on her lapel in honor of WNBA player Brittney Griner, who is being wrongly detained in Russia after allegedly being caught with cannabis oil in her luggage at an airport in February.

She pled guilty in a Russian court on Thursday and is facing up to 10 years in prison if convicted, though it is widely believed that Russia is holding her as a political prisoner in an effort to make a prisoner swap with the United States and that Griner's plea on Thursday was a strategic maneuver to help expedite any such agreement.

https://twitter.com/itsmeglinehan/status/1545080802085683203

Biles, 25, is arguably the greatest gymnast in the history of the sport, with seven Olympic medals (four gold) and 25 World Championships medals (19 gold).

"Today, [Biles] adds to her medal count of 32 —I don’t know if you're gonna find room," Biden said.

Biles, who withdrew from several events at the 2020 Games after going through the "twisties"—when gymnasts feel like they aren't in complete control of their bodies or movements and have difficulty tracking their landing point—has become an advocate for mental health conditions in that aftermath.

Biden said that Biles was able to "turn personal pain into a greater purpose, to stand up and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves."

Biles is the youngest ever recipient of the Medal of Freedom.

Roughly 90 women, including four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, seek a settlement in excess of $1 billion from the FBI over its handling of the allegations against former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.

According to Ed White of the Associated Press, the women say the FBI failed to act with the proper urgency to stop Nassar after becoming aware of sexual assault allegations against him in 2015.

Nassar, who was a doctor at Michigan State University, was not arrested until the fall of 2016 following an investigation by MSU police.

Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison in 2018 for molesting seven young gymnasts and later received a sentence of up to 125 years on three further counts of criminal sexual conduct. He had previously been sentenced to 60 years in prison on child pornography charges.

Per White, USA Gymnastics informed the FBI in 2015 that three gymnasts said Nassar had sexually assaulted them.

The FBI did not launch a formal investigation at the time, nor did it inform federal or state authorities. It also failed to inform state authorities in Michigan when it opened an investigation in 2016 even though Nassar was still working at Michigan State University at the time.

FBI Director Christopher Wray admitted the FBI erred in its handling of the Nassar investigation while speaking to Congress last year: "I'm especially sorry that there were people at the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster back in 2015 and failed. And that's inexcusable."

Multiple settlements have already been reached in relation to Nassar. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee gave victims $380 million last year.

Additionally, Michigan State reached a $500 million settlement in 2018 with more than 300 women and girls who said Nassar sexually assaulted them.

In 2018, Eaton County Circuit Court Judge Janice Cunningham said 265 known victims of Nassar had been discovered.

Among the notable gymnasts who seek a settlement from the FBI are Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney.

Biles is one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, having won five gold medals in the all-around at the world championships and one Olympic gold in the all-around. Biles is a four-time gold medalist and has won seven medals overall at the Summer Games.

Raisman twice won Olympic gold in the team event and once in the floor exercise, along with three other Olympic medals, including silver in the all-around in 2016.

Maroney won team gold and silver in the vault at the 2012 London Olympics as part of the "Fierce Five" U.S. Olympic team.