MANILA, Philippines — An unexpected fall to begin his routine robbed the Philippines' Carlos Yulo of a podium finish in his pet event floor exercise at the finals of the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool on Saturday.
Yulo, who stumbled early on in the final, finished only seventh among the eight finalists with a score of 13.300.
A former world champion in the event, Yulo looked poised to regain his crown when he topped the qualification with 15.266 while also scoring 15.166 in floor exercise in the men's all-around final on Friday (early Saturday morning, Manila time).
He was the only gymnast to breach the 15-point mark in floor exercise in this edition of worlds.
But the shock fall doomed Yulo's hopes of returning to the top of the podium. The Filipino looked visibly upset after the routine.
Great Britain's Giarnni Regini-Moran nipped Japan's Daiki Hashimoto to clinch gold with 14.533.
Newly crowned all-around champion Hashimoto, tallied 14.500. His compatriot Ryosuke Doi completed the podium in third as he scored 14.266 — bucking a .100 penalty.
Yulo, though, still has a chance to come home with a medal as he competes in the finals of the vault, where he is the reigning world champion, and parallel bars on Sunday.