Japan's Cathy and Chris Reed failed to advance to the free dance in the ice dance competition at the World Figure Skating Championships on Wednesday.
Cathy fell on a step and the siblings could only manage 48.32 points in the short dance, more than eight off their personal best for 22nd place. The top 20 pairs advanced to Friday's free dance.
"My mind and body were not as one," said Cathy. "It's really disheartening."
Narumi Takahashi and Ryuichi Kihara also failed to progress to the free skate in the pairs program after their score of 44.54 in the short skate left them in last place.
"This score shows our lack of ability," said Kihara. "We have to have a rethink and try and improve technically."
Men's defending champion Yuzuru Hanyu tuned up at the practice venue and worked on his quad jumps ahead of the short program on Friday.
Satoko Miyahara, Rika Hongo and Kanako Murakami are set to skate in the women's short program on Thursday.