After withdrawing from the team all-around and four individual events after a case of the ‘twisties,’ a vertigo-like condition that makes gymnastics exceptionally dangerous, Simone Biles returned to compete in the final event of the Tokyo Olympics, winning bronze.
Simone Biles returned to action early Tuesday morning and secured a bronze medal in the balance beam in a dazzling performance.
After claiming her bronze, Biles and other U.S. gymnasts appeared on TODAY for an exclusive interview that focused on Team USA’s performance in Tokyo and the discussion surrounding mental health this Olympics.
"It means more than all the golds," Biles said of her bronze medal on TODAY. "I pushed through so much over the last five years and the last week while I've been here. It was very emotional and I'm just proud of myself and all of these girls as well."
Biles pulled out of four previous events -- all-around, vault, uneven bars and floor exercise -- after experiencing the “twisties” on a vault in the team final last Tuesday. The 24-year-old Biles overcame the phenomenon on balance beam, where twisting is much less prevalent than on the other apparatus in women’s gymnastics.
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Biles won four golds at the 2016 Olympics, but taking the break for her mental health gave Biles perspective on the bigger picture.
"We're not just athletes or entertainment -- we're human, too, and we have real emotions," Biles said. "Sometimes they don't realize that we have things going on behind the scenes that affects us whenever we go out and compete.
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"There's more than gymnastics and medals."
There were also many misconceptions about Biles' mental health over the past week, which she addressed on the show.
"That I was at no risk and mental health isn't a serious issue," Biles said when asked about the biggest misconception of her condition. "That it was basically a cop out. The girls saw me in training and my coaches saw me in training, I physically couldn't do it safely. It's because I was getting so lost in the air."
Biles was noncommittal about her future, saying she would "definitely take some time to let this Olympics sink in."
"Maybe one day, I have no idea what's going to happen," Biles said about a possible future in coaching. "I'm just going to take it day by day."
Regardless of where Biles' career goes next, she'll go down among the all-time greats in women's gymnastics. She has seven career Olympic medals, tied with Shannon Miller for the most in U.S. gymnastics history.
