Biles speaks candidly after exit: Doing what I love 'kind of taken away from me'

U.S. gymnastics superstar Simone Biles was candid about her withdrawal from the women's team competition, citing the need to put her mental health first.

"I know that this Olympic Games, I wanted it to be for myself. I came here, and I felt like I was still doing it for other people," Biles told reporters, according to The Washington Post's Emily Giambalvo. "So that just hurts my heart that doing what I love has been kind of taken away from me to please other people.

"We also have to focus on ourselves, because at the end of the day we're human, too, so we have to protect our mind and our body, rather than just go out there and do what the world wants us to do," Biles added.

Biles said she was shaking in the hours leading up to Tuesday's event and knew that she wasn't in the right frame of mind when she stepped onto the floor.

"I felt like it would be better to take a back seat … I didn't want to risk the team a medal because they worked way too hard for my screw-ups," the six-time Olympic medalist said, per ESPN's Michele Steele.

Biles remained on the sidelines to cheer on her teammates. The American squad of Grace McCallum, Sunisa Lee, and Jordan Chiles went on to claim the silver medal, finishing 3.432 points behind the Russian Olympic Committee.

The 24-year-old isn't sure if she'll take part in the individual events. Biles is the defending Olympic champion in three disciplines, including Thursday's all-around competition.

"We're gonna take it day-by-day, and we're just gonna see," Biles told Hoda Kotb on TODAY.