On Wednesday, September 4, USA Gymnastics star Hezly Rivera delivered an unforgettable ceremonial first pitch before the Texas Rangers’ game against the New York Yankees.

The 16-year-old Olympian, who had practiced her pitch a few times leading up to the event, made quite an impression. Rivera dazzled the crowd by performing an aerial flip before throwing the ball to Rangers infielder Justin Foscue. This move, which she described as her “signature” trick, added a unique touch to the ceremonial pitch.

Both the Rangers and MLB praised Rivera’s performance highly, with the Texas franchise even awarding her a “perfect 10” on X (formerly Twitter) for her remarkable display.

Meanwhile, the MLB’s X account called it an “unreal” first pitch while also sharing a photo of Rivera mid-air as she was flipping. “Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Hezly Rivera threw an unreal first pitch strike at the Rangers game,” the MLB wrote.

Rivera, who was the youngest member of US women’s gymnastics team, won gold during the 2024 Paris Olympics. She was part of the team all-around event, which the Americans dominated en route to the top prize.

While Rivera didn’t perform during the team final, she did participate in the beam and uneven bars events during the qualifying round. Now, she’s not only an Olympian but also a gold medalist.

Rivera was originally from New Jersey but is now residing in Plano, Texas after moving there to train at the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy.