Bryce Harper held Katie Ledecky's gold medals while she threw out the first pitch
Some people get nervous before throwing out a first pitch. Katie Ledecky is not some people.
Fresh off winning five medals, including four golds, at the Rio Olympics, Ledecky came back home to kick off Baltimore's 10-8 win over the Nationals on Wednesday at Nationals Park. It's hard to throw a baseball with all of that hardware around your neck, though, so she decided to seek some help -- from
Yes, Ledecky brought Harper to the mound with her and one by one removed her medals and handed them to him. She then confidently threw the first pitch straight into the glove of Nationals pitcher
"I'm definitely more comfortable doing something big in front of a lot of people than I was four years ago [when she first threw out a first pitch at Nationals Park]," said a smiling Ledecky. "I've swum in front of 14,000 people. Once the ball leaves your hand you can't really control it."
Ledecky, who was born in Washington and grew up in nearby Bethesda, Md., called herself "a big Nats fan" -- citing Harper as her favorite player, because real recognize real. She didn't get any pitching pointers from the players, but they did keep asking to feel how heavy her medals were.
"It's kind of a different feeling for me to have them be a fan of me, when I've been a huge fan of them for a couple years," Ledecky said.
Fresh off her Olympic heroics, Ledecky said she's taking time to enjoy herself and her hometown area before heading to Stanford, where she'll begin school next month.
"I took a few days right after I got back and got some rest and kind of charged back up," she said. "It's been great to see some friends, spent time with family and be back in the D.C. area."
