Sally Pearson says she would have risked the end of her athletics career by trying to overcome a hamstring injury and compete at the Rio Olympics.
The Olympic 100m hurdles champion says she's "gutted" at being forced to withdraw from the Rio Games after injuring a hamstring tendon at training on Monday.
"I could have gone to the Olympics and still competed but competing and going out to the Olympics, it means different things to me," she told the Nine Network on Wednesday.
"I go there for 100 per cent effort and I wouldn't be able to give that effort that I would like to bring ... and the risk of re-injuring and causing a lot more damage and probably not coming back was very, very high.
"And I still have Gold Coast 2018 (Commonwealth Games) on my mind ... if I want to be able to come back for that stronger, fitter and faster than ever, then I need to take this time to make sure my body has healed."
Pearson had returned to her Gold Coast base to find fitness and form after struggling in three comeback races in Europe earlier this month.
The races were her first competitive outings after a year-long absence because of a broken wrist and a torn calf muscle suffered in a fall during a race in June last year.
Her comeback was stalled by Achilles and separate hamstring issues before Monday's setback.
"It is a hard time for me ... I'm disappointed and I'm gutted," she said.
"Everyone knows I'm a competitor and I'm a fierce competitor and I like to represent my country proudly at any competition that I go into.
"Unfortunately it is the biggest sporting event in the world that I am going to be missing out on and I can't be a part of. It's upsetting."
Pearson said she was finally feeling near her best until her fresh injury on Monday,
"My body finally was starting to feel normal again, it was starting to feel the speed, the strength - it was all coming together," she said.
"Unfortunately on Monday, my body just didn't agree with me this time.
"It couldn't push that little extra bit to the edge, I just tumbled over the edge unfortunately this time, and I tore my hamstring."
The 29-year-old said the injury was to her biceps femoris tendon in a hamstring.
"It's not so much just like a tear (sic) hamstring and you'll be right in a couple of weeks, it is a tendon injury," Pearson said.
"The biceps femoris has two heads and I split those two heads.
"Doing something like that in a tendon injury, it takes a long, long time to get better ... and unfortunately seven weeks out (from the Rio Games) I have done a tendon injury and it's not going to allow me to get back in time for the Olympics."
