Two-time Olympic figure skating gold medallist Yuzuru Hanyu looks unlikely to add a third medal to his haul after stumbling at the Beijing Winter Games.
Hanyu, of Japan, bailed out of the opening quad salchow of his short programme on Tuesday just seconds into his routine, invalidating his jump.
The 27-year-old said it wasn't until takeoff that he knew something was not right.
"When I took off, I was under some hole, maybe (caused by) some other skater's toe (loop) or flip or something."
He said he warmed up on a different part of the rink.
"I just moved a little in the competition with the music and I was under the hole. That was some accident but it's OK."
He scored a 95.15 to sit in eighth place after the short.
"I have one more chance. I have lots of time with the music and many jumps in there, so I (can) be my best," Hanyu said.
Rival Nathan Chen, the reigning world champion, capitalized on Hanyu's mistake, skating into first place with a world record score of 113.97.
However, the American refused to rule Hanyu out of the competition.
"You can never really count out any of these athletes. The competition's not one program. Whatever happens in the short program is not indicative of what will happen in the free program," Chen said.
