The Philippines’ lone world champion gymnast fell short in his floor exercise routine in the artistic gymnastics qualification phase after he had missteps in his routine early and never really got his bearings.

Yulo showcased his double layout double full out, where he seemed to have flubbed the landing. He also did not have the cleanest of landings in the second pass, which may have deducted his overall points.

The two missteps early in his routine proved crucial for Yulo after scoring 6.600 in difficulty, 6.966 in execution, and finishing with 13.566 points.

The country’s bet finished 44th in floor exercise, with only the top eight of each apparatus advancing to the final.

“Ewan ko po ano nangyari,” Yulo told Filipino reporters present in Tokyo as he walked out of the floor, visibly shaken but still smiling before reporters.

“Preparado naman po ako. At hindi naman ako kinakabahan. Medyo lang, doon sa una kong event. Pero tama lang.”

Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat outclassed contenders and topped the field with a 15.2.

The Filipino 4-foot-11 dynamo, though, remained in the running for an Olympic medal after clinching a final spot in the vault event.

The 21-year-old gained a 14.712 average in the two vaults, with the first being a Kasamatsu double full for a score of 14.766. He then magnificently executed the Dragulescu vault, which was enough for a score of 14.658.

Yulo will be joined by Shin Jeahwan of Korea, Artur Davtyan of Armenia, Nikita Nagornyy and Denis Abliazin of the Russian Olympic Committee, Adem Asil and Ahmet Onder of Turkey, and Caio Souza of Brazil in the final on August 2.

The Pinoy gymnast scored 14.000 in still rings (24th), 13.466 in parallel bars (55th), 12.300 in the horizontal bar (63rd), and 11.833 (69th) in pommel horse for a grand total of 79.877.

Yulo ranked 47th in a field of 62 starters, far away from the top 24 rankings needed to make it to the all-around final.