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Simone Biles Says She's 'Leaving the Door Open' for Potential Return to Future Olympic Games

Simone Biles Says She's 'Leaving the Door Open' for Potential Return to Future Olympic Games

Simone Biles is living in the moment — but keeping her options open when it comes to a future Summer Olympics appearance.

On Wednesday's episode of the Today show, the newly minted 2021 balance beam bronze medal winner, 24, told Hoda Kotb that she is "leaving the door open" when it comes to the 2024 Games in Paris.

But she said she's in no rush to make a decision.

"I think I have to relish and take this Olympics in, and kind of recognize what I've done with my career because after 2016, I didn't get to do that."

"Life just happens so quickly and now I have a greater appreciation for life after everything that's happened in the last five years," Biles said.

Following her win on the beam, the athlete similarly told reporters, "I'm still trying to process this Olympics, and then we have [the] tour after. And so Paris is definitely not in my mind frame because there are so many things I have to work on for myself first."

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simone biles
simone biles

Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/Getty Simone Biles

RELATED: Why Simone Biles Was Worried Before Tokyo — and How She Won More Than Medals at the Games

Biles made her return to the Olympic competition on Tuesday after pulling herself out of the team competition — later explaining that she was suffering from the twisties, a lack of air awareness and needed to focus on her mental health.

She ended up winning bronze in the women's beam final. Biles scored 14.000 for her routine.

At a press conference after the beam final, the gymnast touched on the importance of making mental health a priority, saying in part, "We're not just entertainment. We're human, and there are things going on behind the scenes that we're also trying to juggle with, as well, on top of sports."

Simon Biles
Simon Biles

Alex Livesey/Getty Simon Biles

Biles' coach Cecile Canqueteau-Landi told reporters that it was "too early to say" whether she would return in Paris, "after the week she's had."

"I don't think she's ready to commit to anything. And I wouldn't blame her," Landi added. "She used to take one day at a time ... we've been saying that every day since we've been here, especially the past week. 'One day at a time, let's see how you feel, let's see how you do, what do you want?' It's been mostly a partnership with her. She's 24. She knows herself. I know her well, and that's all we've been working on."

Biles told Kotb, 56, on the Today show that she was "happy I was able to get back out there and do one more routine, especially since I had the girls there rooting me on as well as the guys."

"It just felt really amazing," she continued. "I'm proud of myself for the way I pushed through and even learned that dismount that I haven't done in years, and just put up a good set — that's all I really wanted. I wasn't expecting to walk away with a medal or anything, I just wanted to go out there and do it for myself. And I did."

But she also knows her worth goes beyond the mat. "One morning I woke up and I was like, 'I'm more than my medals and gymnastics — I'm a human being,' " Biles said. "And I've done some courageous things outside of this sport as well and I'm not a quitter."

She added, "If this situation didn't happen, I don't think I would have ever seen it that way. I would have never been able to walk away and think I'm more than just gymnastics and medals."

To learn more about Team USA, visit TeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.