Simone Biles showed off the talent that’s earned her 25 world gymnastics championships medals, backflipping (with a twist) before throwing the ceremonial first pitch before Game 2 of the World Series between the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals on Wednesday night.
“Gymnastics is the only sport I’ve ever done, so when it comes to anything else, I’m literally terrified,” she said before the pitch. “So I get more nervous doing this stuff than competing, which is really weird. So, yeah, hopefully I don’t end up on celebrity fails.”
Biles was born in Columbus but moved to Texas at age 3 and was raised in the Houston suburb of Spring. She still lives and trains in the Houston area.
Biles previously threw an acrobatic first pitch at an Astros game in July 2016, one month before she won four gold medals at the Rio Olympics.
Also Wednesday, Marlen Esparza, a Houston native who in 2012 became the first U.S. Olympic women’s boxing medalist, was scheduled to call “Play Ball!” before the game.
Other Olympians could be in the running for World Series appearances. Swimming gold medalists Simone Manuel and Katie Ledecky are from the Houston and D.C. areas, respectively.