The Houston Astros returned to Minute Maid Park for a four-game series against the Kansas City Royals on Friday. The game featured a special celebration honoring 2024 Paris Summer Olympics athletes. The highlight of the event was seven-time Olympic gold medalist gymnast Simone Biles throwing the ceremonial first pitch. However, shortly after the baseball team released the photos of Biles’ pitch on Instagram, the gymnast’s coach reposted them with a subtle message for the Olympic judges.
Each moment of the ceremonial first pitch was captured in photographs, as shown on the Astros’ Instagram page. One of the photos captured Biles performing the salute that gymnasts do after finishing their performance. Biles’ coach, Cecile Canqueteau-Landi re-posted the photo of the salute and wrote:
“No 0.3 deduction for this salute!!! IT WAS PERFECT“
This was a dig at Biles’ 0.3-point penalty in the balancing beam final at the Paris Olympics for failing to salute the judges properly. It sparked outrage among the gymnast’s supporters. After the floor exercise final, the athlete held her arms in the air while facing the judges for several seconds before walking off the floor.
— Sam John (@SamJohn1190) August 31, 2024
Later, after the event, Biles claimed that the lengthy salute was to ensure she did not receive a similar deduction. However, her coach wanted to take a dig at the judges’ ridiculous deduction after Biles gestured a salute to the audience.
The images from Minute Maid Park showed Biles with her husband, Jonathan Owens, and her teammate Jordan Chiles.
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The two gymnasts were also seen hugging each other and posing for a photograph wearing their Astros jerseys. During the game, Biles also posed for a picture with the Astros’ mascot, Orbit, and first baseman Jon Singleton. The gymnast’s journey to Minute Maid Park was a complete success, as the home club defeated the Royals (3-2).
