What's next for gymnastics great Simone Biles after a trying Tokyo Olympics that ended with a triumphant return?
After claiming her bronze, Biles and other U.S. gymnasts appeared on TODAY for an exclusive interview.
In addressing the question, Biles was noncommittal about her future, saying she would "definitely take some time to let this Olympics sink in."
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But could there be a future for her in coaching?
"Maybe one day, I have no idea what's going to happen," Biles said. "I'm just going to take it day by day."
It's a mentality that also saw her through challenging times during the Tokyo Olympics, where Biles brought a discussion on mental health to the world's biggest stage.
Tokyo Olympics
Watch all the action from the Tokyo Olympics live on NBC
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.
"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 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.
"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."
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.
