“I thought I would be banned from entering America.”

Simone Biles said she was afraid to return to the United States after withdrawing from the gymnastics final at the Tokyo Olympics while battling “sprains.”

The 27-year-old gymnastics legend – the most decorated athlete the sport has ever seen, with 37 world and Olympic gold medals – spoke of the enormous pressure she felt from both inside and outside when she pulled out of the team final at the Olympics. Games in summer 2021.

“America hates me. The world is going to hate me. I can't help but see what they're saying on Twitter now,” she recalled how she felt in an interview with “Call Her Daddy,” presented exclusively to TODAY. The full podcast is scheduled to be published on Wednesday.

Biles stunned millions of viewers around the world by failing to execute her jumping routine and landing awkwardly. She withdrew from the team final and the individual all-around final, sparking discussion about mental health and the pressures of elite sport.

Biles explained at the time that “twists” occur when a gymnast loses spatial awareness in the air and cannot judge when and where to land.

“So, I landed like this, and as soon as I landed, I kind of smiled and said, 'S—,'” she said in the preview clip.

Biles was able to compete in the barbell final, winning the bronze medal, an achievement she considered the most important of her glittering Olympic career.

“If I could get on a plane and go home, I would do it. I thought I would be banned from America, because that's what they tell you: 'Don't come back if there's no gold.' Or don't come back,” Biles said on the podcast.

It is still unclear whether Biles will compete in the Paris Olympics, which start in the French capital in 100 days.

But Biles strongly hinted that that was her goal.

“I would say that's the path I'd love to take, so I don't mind if you put it in the 'yay' section,” she told TODAY last year.

Biles ended a two-year break from elite competition in 2023, returning to win her eighth US singles title before winning her sixth world all-around title a few weeks later.

she is Because of competition At the US Classic in Hartford, Connecticut in May.

The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics will be held on July 26.