(CNN) Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles left Tokyo on Wednesday with her fame intact, but changed from the person she had been before the games.
Suffering from the twisties -- a mental condition in which gymnasts lose the sense of where their bodies are in midair -- Biles stunned the world by withdrawing from some Olympics events.
"I had no idea where I was in the air," Biles said in an interview on the "Today" show, speaking of her performance in a team event. "You can literally see it in my eyes in the pictures, like I was petrified."
Biles, who won four gold medals and a bronze in the 2016 Olympics, went on to win bronze on the balance beam in Tokyo, a medal that meant "more than all the golds, because I've pushed through so much the last five years and the last week," she said in a "Today" show interview.
Superstar gymnast Simone Biles
Simone Biles competes on the balance beam during the individual all-around at the Paris Olympics in August 2024. She won gold.
Biles talks with her grandfather, Ron, as she trains in Houston in August 2013. Biles grew up in Spring, Texas, just outside of Houston.
Biles competes on the balance beam during the US National Gymnastics Championships in August 2013. She won gold in the individual all-around.
Biles dodges a bee flying near her during the medal ceremony at the 2014 World Championships. She successfully defended her title in the individual all-around.
Biles, left, poses at home with her grandparents Ron and Nellie, who adopted her and her younger sister Adria, right.
Biles practices in Houston in January 2016.
Biles, right, and fellow gymnast Gabby Douglas stand during the opening ceremony of the 2016 US Olympic Trials. Both made the team. Douglas was the Olympic all-around champion in 2012.
Biles celebrates with her teammates after the US Olympic Trials in 2016.
Biles competes on the balance beam at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She won gold in the individual all-around and the team all-around. She also added two more golds and a bronze.
Biles competes on the uneven bars at the 2016 Olympics.
From left, US gymnasts Laurie Hernandez, Madison Kocian, Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas celebrate after winning gold in the team all-around at the 2016 Olympics.
Biles celebrates with the gold medal she earned for her individual all-around title at the 2016 Olympics.
Biles has her legs held by host Jimmy Fallon as she plays a game called Hungry Hungry Humans on "The Tonight Show" in August 2016. Also playing were actor Donald Glover and some of Biles' teammates.
Biles poses with swimming legend Michael Phelps, Raisman and actress Olivia Munn during a recording of the show "Lip Sync Battle: All Stars Live" in September 2016.
First lady Michelle Obama rests her elbow on Biles' head as President Barack Obama speaks at the White House in September 2016. The Obamas were hosting an event for US Olympians.
Biles takes a photo with a young fan in Houston in September 2016.
Biles competes in "Dancing with the Stars" with Sasha Farber in 2017. They would finish in fourth place.
Biles speaks after receiving the ESPY Award for best female athlete in 2017.
Biles performs with the Houston Texans cheerleaders in December 2017.
Biles competes on the uneven bars during the 2018 World Championships. She won gold in the individual all-around.
Biles soars through the air while competing on the uneven bars at the World Championships in 2019. Again, she won gold in the individual all-around.
Biles competes in the floor exercise during the World Championships in 2019.
Biles celebrates after winning the balance beam final at the 2019 World Championships.
Biles lands awkwardly while competing in the team all-around at the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021. Biles stumbled on the vault landing and then
pulled out of the competition over mental-health concerns.
Biles is congratulated by coach Cecile Canqueteau-Landi after they realized Biles
would win an Olympic bronze medal in the balance beam final in July 2021. Biles had pulled out of several events earlier in Tokyo, citing mental health concerns. Specifically, she said she had "the twisties," a mental block in gymnastics in which competitors lose track of their positioning midair. Her bronze medal tied her with Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals ever won by an American gymnast.
From left, Biles, McKayla Maroney, Maggie Nichols and Aly Raisman are sworn in to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2021. They
sharply criticized how FBI agents handled the sexual abuse allegations against Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics team doctor now serving a long prison sentence.
President Joe Biden awards Biles with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in July 2022. Biles, 25, became
the youngest person ever to receive the award. "When she stands on the podium,we see what she is: absolute courage to turn personal pain into a greater purpose, to stand and speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves," Biden said.
Biles appears on "The Late Late Show with James Corden" in September 2022. On the right is US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Biles competes in the uneven bars at the
Core Hydration Classic in August 2023. It was her first competitive event since 2021, and she won the all-around.
Biles celebrates after winning a record
eighth national all-around title at the US Gymnastics Championships in August 2023. The 26-year-old also became the oldest woman to ever win the championships.
Biles celebrates after winning the individual all-around at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in October 2023.
By winning gold, she became the most decorated female or male gymnast ever, surpassing Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo's record of 33 overall medals across both the Olympics and the world championships.
Biles celebrates as the 2024 Olympic team was named in June.
Biles competes on the balance beam during the team competition at the Paris Olympics in July 2024.
The Americans won gold for Biles' eighth Olympic medal.
Team USA celebrates as Biles finishes her floor exercise in the Olympic team competition.
Biles competes in the individual vault final in August 2024. She took home the gold, her
10th Olympic medal.
The experience, she said, allowed her to realize that she is "more than my medals in gymnastics. I'm a human being, and I've done some courageous things outside of this sport," she said in the interview.
"I don't think, if this situation didn't happen, I would have never seen it that way," she said.
After four Olympic golds and 19 world championship titles, the 24-year-old has brought about a wider discussion on the mental health challenges facing top-performing athletes, an amazing feat in itself.
What's next for this extraordinary young woman?
Rest and therapy
Biles' coach, Cecile Canqueteau-Landi, said the star athlete is "openly talking about therapy, and that's what she's going to go through."
"Honestly, I think we all should do it," Canqueteau-Landi told reporters in Tokyo, according to the Dallas Morning News. "No shame on it. I think I might need to. It's been one hell of a week — some very highs, some very lows."
Some much-deserved R&R also looks to be in Biles' future.
She deserves "some vacation," Canqueteau-Landi said, according to People. "I think she needs a good break. We're going to go back to work but I'm happy for her that she gets to go back to her family, her boyfriend, her dog. She's just going to go home and enjoy."
The Gold Over America Tour
An extended vacation may have to wait until after the Gold Over America Tour that Biles will be starring in starting next month.
She and other star gymnasts, including Laurie Hernandez and Jordan Chiles, will be touring 35 cities throughout the United States to celebrate female athletes.
"I love the sport of gymnastics and wanted to help create a show that celebrates the pure joy of performing," Biles said in announcing the tour.
The first performance will be in Tucscon, Arizona, on September 21, and the last is in Boston on November 7. The schedule and tickets are available here.
Paris in 2024?
Will Biles compete in the Paris Olympics in 2024?
"I just need to process this whole thing first," she said at a news conference in Tokyo when asked that question.
Later, in an interview on the "Today" show, she said she's "keeping the door open" to the Paris games.
Her coaches are French, and Biles in the past has indicated she might compete there to honor them.
Coaching, of course, is another possibility down the line.
"Maybe one day, I have no idea what's going to happen," Biles said on the "Today" show when asked about coaching. "I'm just going to take it day by day."