(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.
Photos: Superstar gymnast Simone Biles
Simone Biles competes in the floor exercise during the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, in October 2019.
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Photos: Superstar gymnast Simone Biles
Biles poses after winning the gold medal in the floor exercise at the 2013 World Championships.
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Photos: Superstar gymnast Simone Biles
Biles dodges a bee flying near her during the medal ceremony after winning gold in the all-around final of the 2014 World Championships.
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Photos: Superstar gymnast Simone Biles
Biles practices in Houston in January 2016.
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