Gymnast Simone Biles today offered up the strongest hint that she is already planning to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympics, admitting that she is 'keeping the door open' for the next Games after suffering a series of mental health issues that blighted her quest for gold medal glory in Tokyo.
The 24-year-old spoke out about the mental health struggles that prompted her controversial decision to withdraw from five Olympic finals, revealing that she now believes they were 'probably' caused - at least in part - by the trauma of the abuse she endured at the hands of pedophile doctor Larry Nassar.
'Now that I think of it, maybe in the back of my head, probably, yes, because there are certain triggers that you don't even know. And I think [the abuse] could have [affected me],' she told the Today show's Hoda Kotb.
Biles, who left Tokyo with two medals - a silver in the team final and a bronze on the balance beam - added that she was 'a little bit' worried that her decision to withdraw would once again allow USA Gymnastics to 'brush [the Nassar abuse scandal] under the rug', having revealed prior to the Olympics that she wanted to keep reminding the public of what she and hundreds of other gymnasts had gone through.
Looking ahead: Simone Biles today gave the strongest hint that she is hoping to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics, saying she is 'leaving the door open' for a return to the Games
Struggle: The 24-year-old spoke to Today about the mental health issues that blighted her quest for Olympic gold in Tokyo, insisting her decision to withdraw from finals felt 'brave'
Back in action: After pulling out of five Olympic finals, Biles returned to competition in the balance beam final on Tuesday, when she won a bronze medal
'[It weighed on me] a little bit, but I knew that still being the face of gymnastics and the USA and everything we've brought, it's not going to be buried under the rug and it will still be a very big conversation,' she said.
'We have to protect those athletes and figure out why it happened, who knew what when.'
The gymnast also confessed that her decision to withdraw left her struggling with guilt over the disappointment that her family at home might feel, particularly as they had 'sacrificed so much' to help her achieve her sporting goals.
'Trigger': Speaking about her mental health struggles in Tokyo, Biles admitted that they were 'probably' caused - at least in part - by the trauma of the abuse she suffered at the hands of pedophile doctor Larry Nassar
'[It's a lot of pressure to carry] for one person... my family back home, they sacrificed so much,' she said.
'You work five years for something and you have a whole team surrounding you and you do it all together and... I get here and it didn't work how I wanted it to.'
Biles first revealed that she was battling mental health issues when she made the shock decision to pull out of the team final after just one event - the vault - on which she balked in mid-air after getting 'lost' during a skill.
Recalling the moment she realized she 'had no idea where she was', Biles admitted that she was left 'petrified' because she didn't know where she was going to land.
'I don't think people realized doing that vault, since I still landed on my feet, I don't think they realized I didn't do the correct vault I was supposed to,' she said.
'I had no idea where I was in the air, you could literally see it in my eyes in the pictures, I was petrified.
'I had no idea what I was about to land on. My head, my face, my legs, my arms? I had no idea where I was and I was really afraid I was going to hurt myself.'
Biles' withdrawal from the team final - and her subsequent decision to pull out of the all-around, uneven bars, vault, and floor exercise events - sparked a furious debate online and in the media, with some accusing the gymnast of 'quitting' and 'abandoning' her team.
Terror: In Tokyo, Biles battled a mental condition called the 'twisties', which causes gymnasts to feel 'lost in the air' and prompted her to bail on her team final vault mid-way through
Concern: She revealed that she felt 'petrified' while flying through the air on the skill, saying, 'You could see it in my eyes... I had no idea where I was'
However she insists that she made the 'braver' decision in pulling out of competition, noting that it is not something she would have had the strength to do several years ago.
'I thought that was brave of me, because if you would have asked me a couple of years ago, I would have kept pushing through,' she said.
'But I'm at the age now where I kind of control my mental and wellbeing and I knew that it was the best decision for the team and myself.'
The decision to withdraw, she insists, was not an easy one however - and she says she felt as though she was 'giving up' on a 'dream' she had worked five years to bring to fruition.
'It was hard working five years for a dream and just having to give it up. It was not easy at
