Simone Biles’ Salute at Houston Astros Game Was ‘Perfect,’ Coach Says

Fresh off her Paris Olympics victory, Simone Biles threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Houston Astros game on Friday, August 30.

The 27-year-old gymnast, who lives and trains in Houston, stepped out on the baseball diamond in a team jersey and matching hat. She was joined by her husband, Chicago Bears football safety Jonathan Owens, on the mound.

Biles wound up her arm, clutching the baseball before launching it at the catcher. After her throw, Biles did a gymnastics-style salute used to signify the end of a routine.

“No 0.3 deduction for this salute!!!” Biles’ Olympics coach, Cecile Landi, wrote via her Instagram Stories on Friday. “IT WAS PERFECT 🥳.”

After Biles competed in the balance beam event final at the 2024 Olympics last month, she received a deduction for failing to salute the judges long enough. When she competed in the floor exercise round the next day, she made sure to hold her salute until she was completely off the mat.

Biles walked away from the Paris Games with three gold medals and one silver honor. She earned gold for the individual all-around and vault finals, respectively, before finishing in second place behind Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade on floor. Biles and the rest of the artistic gymnastics squad — Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera — took gold in the team event.

The Paris athletic event brought Biles’ overall Olympics medal count to 11, but she’s not ready to decide whether she will attempt to make the 2028 team.

“Is this my last? Definitely [my final] Yurchenko double pike. I mean, I kinda nailed that one,” she joked in a press conference after the vault medal ceremony. “The next Olympics is at home [in Los Angeles]. So, you just never know. But, I am getting really old.”

Hours later, Biles clapped back at the line of questioning.

“You guys really gotta stop asking athletes what’s next after they win a medal at the Olympics,” Biles wrote via X on August 4. “Let us soak up the moment we’ve worked our whole lives for.”

Biles remained in Paris through the closing ceremony where she was chosen as the Team USA flagbearer for that event.

“Such an honor. I haven’t found the right words to describe my Olympic experience, it’s been a whirlwind,” she wrote via Instagram. “But I do know, I’ll be forever grateful to represent the United States.”