EJ Obiena's former coaches at Chiang Kai Shek College in Manila. Paige Javier, ABS-CBN NewsMANILA -- The former coaches of Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena believe he will come back stronger and give the Olympics another shot.

This, after Obiena's campaign in the 2024 Paris Olympics ended in heartbreak with a fourth place finish on Monday night at the Stade de France (early Tuesday, Manila time).

Aside from being coached by his parents Emerson and Jeanette Obiena, EJ was also trained by track and field coaches Arthur Fronda, Diana Sy and Gerwin Garay from Grade 4 to high school at Chiang Kai Shek College in Manila.

The three coaches lauded Obiena even after he missed out on the podium. Obiena had failed to clear the 5.95-meter mark three times, relegating him to fourth place while Greece's Emmanouil Karalis took bronze on countback.

Sam Kendricks of the United States took silver, and Sweden's Armand Duplantis repeated as Olympic pole vault champion while also setting a new world record of 6.25-m.

READ: Heartbreak for Obiena as he misses pole vault podium

"Congratulations EJ! From rank 11 last Olympics, rank four ka na ngayon. Although nga hindi natin nakuha yung medal ngayon, alam ko babalik ka stronger sa next Olympics. Congrats. Ang sambayanang Pilipino, especially yung Chiang Kai Shek yung former school mo, ay proud na proud sa'yo," coach Arthur Fronda said.

(Congratulations EJ! From rank 11 last Olympics, you're now ranked fourth. Although we didn't get the medal now, I know you'll bounce back stronger in the next Olympics. Congrats! The Filipino people, especially your former school Chiang Kai Shek, are very proud of you.)

"Congratulations EJ! We're so proud of you. Alam ko in spite na hindi tayo nakapag medal this time, pero I'm sure you'll come back stronger. (I know in spite we didn't get the medal this time, but I'm sure) And we're looking for that," assistant coach Diana Sy said.

"Proud na proud kami sa iyo. Sana huwag ka tumigil hangga't hindi tayo mag medal ng Olympics. Tutal batang-bata ka pa naman," coach Gerwin Garay said.

(We're very proud of you! I hope you don't stop until we get a medal in the Olympics. You're still young anyway.)

Although he delivered a strong performance, Obiena's former coaches said he fell short in minor aspects of the game.

"Okay naman yung performance niya pero yung breaks of the game ganun talaga. Yung kalaban niya malakas. Unfortunately natalo siya sa attempts yung pababa. But yung distance nila is pareho," Fronda. 

(His performance was okay but it's just the breaks of the game, that's how it is. His opponents were strong. Unfortunately, he lost because of the attempts and on the way down. But their distance is the same.)

"Maganda yung performance niya, sa attempts lang nagkaproblema. Pero makikita naman sa video na naover niya. Ang problem lang niya is sumabit pababa on his way down," Sy said.

(His performance was good, it just came down to the number of attempts. But you can see in the video that he went over. The problem is that he hit the bar on his way down.)

Garay shared what he thinks Obiena can improve on for future competitions.

"Sa pole vault kasi, dapat yung ensayo diyan tuloy-tuloy para yung technique hindi mawala sa iyo. Yung improve lang niya yung pag tulak niya pataas. Mas swabe dapat katulad ng mga kalaban niya. Kung mas maganda yung tulak niya, baka sakali may medal pa," Garay said.

(In pole vault, you need to train consistently so you don't lose your technique. He just needs to improve the upward push. It needs to be more smooth like his opponents. If he improves the push, he can get a medal.)

EJ Obiena with his former coaches. Photo courtesy of Diana SyFollowing Obiena's fourth place finish in Paris, the coaches believe the 28-year-old still has what it takes to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

"Yes kayang kaya. Si EJ naman pag gumalaw talaga seryoso eh. Hindi hihinto yan ng ensayo hanggang hindi niya naaachieve ang isang bagay. World class athlete siya yung Olympics lang naman yung hindi niya namedal eh. Yung Olympics hoping 2028 atin na," Fronda said.

(Yes he can definitely [try again.] When EJ does something, he's serious about it. He won't stop training until he achieves his goal. He's a world class athlete already, it's just in the Olympics that he has not won a medal yet. I'm hoping the 2028 [Los Angeles] Olympics is ours.)

"Sa akin yes definitely. Kasi ang best niya talaga is 6 meters so I think mas kakayanin pa niya. Siyempre upon training, meron pa siyang time to adjust. Saka yan yung mga peak season nila eh yung mga age nilang ganyan. Yan yung mga peaking nila yun," Sy shared.

(For me, I definitely think [he will try again.] His personal best is 6 meters so I think he can still do it of course with training, he still has time to adjust. And that age that he's in, that's the peak season for them. That's when they really reach their peak.)

"Kaya niya kasi bata pa naman siya. Kasi si EJ madisiplinang player yan. Pag may goal siya, gusto niya laging abutin. Kaya hindi titigil yan hangga't hindi mag medal sa Olympics," Garay explained.

(He can still do it since he's still young. EJ is a very disciplined player. When he has a goal, he always wants to achieve it. He won't stop until he gets a medal at the Olympics.)

The three coaches say Obiena has achieved a lot for Philippine athletics, having won gold in the Asian Games, silver in the World Championships and being ranked second in the world in pole vault.

"Bihira yung maka Asian Games at World Championships especially when it comes to athletics, ang hirap manalo kasi diyan. So yung na-achieve niya is sobrang taas, record breaking na yan when it comes to athletics. Especially yung maging number two ka sa mundo, mabigat yun," Fronda said.

(It's rare to make it to the Asian Games and World Championships especially when it comes to athletics. It's difficult to win there. So what he [Obiena] achieved is very high, it's record-breaking when it comes to athletics. Especially to become world number two in the world, that's a heavy feat.)

They acknowledge it may take time for Obiena to process what happened at the Paris Olympics. But they are hopeful Obiena will mount a comeback, given his go-getter mindset and determination.

Obiena himself has indicated that he intends to bounce back from the painful result.

"I have been knocked down. But I will get back up," Obiena said in an Instagram post.

READ: EJ Obiena turns emotional after missing Paris 2024 podium

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