Netizens showered Filipino athlete EJ Obiena with much love despite failing to make a podium finish in the men's pole vault in the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday night.

Obiena gained admiration because of his effort, after competing with world record holder and new pole vault Olympic gold medalist Mondo Duplantis of Sweden and his (Obiena's) training partner, Rio Olympics gold medalist Thiago Braz.

Salamat EJ Obiena, you made the country proud! 🇵🇭

— Edson C. Guido (@EdsonCGuido) August 3, 2021

" You Raised the Bar EJ Obiena" #TokyoOlympics #EJObiena #ProudPinoy pic.twitter.com/xsaHZyiyVE

— Yohrdman (@Yohrdman1) August 3, 2021

Thank you EJ Obiena!
You made all the Filipinos really proud upon reaching the finals on this Pole Vault competition.
💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻
🇵🇭#Olympics #PoleVault #EjObiena pic.twitter.com/f1S5H5KX8J

— J.Nav28 절브스 (@jervzky28) August 3, 2021

THANK YOU #EJObiena 🙌🏼👏🏽❤️
Thank you for representing our country.
WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU ❤️❤️#Tokyo2020 #TokyoOlympics2020
📸 PSC pic.twitter.com/VCqjfqLHDu

— Ea Bii Tha 🇵🇭🏳️‍🌈🇹🇭 (@amichahlle) August 3, 2021

Some of them also took notice of his Spongebob Squarepants socks that he used in the finals.

Let’s hope those SpongeBob socks do the trick. Prayers up, EJ OBIENA! 🇵🇭#Olympics #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/7s6hq8ZcHZ

— Lakay (@LakasNgTimog) August 3, 2021

NOW: Thomasian pole vaulter EJ Obiena—in his SpongeBob SquarePants socks—will compete in the finals of the #Tokyo2020 #Olympics men's pole vault event for a chance at an Olympic medal in a few minutes. Follow @varsitarianust and @VSportsUST for updates. pic.twitter.com/3zsvZJkKQW

— The Varsitarian (@varsitarianust) August 3, 2021

But perhaps the most noteworthy of the tweets were the ones which praised Obiena for arguing his case with officials while appealing for a final jump in the 5.80m.

it's just touching to see how he fought till end 🤍

see you again after 4yrs! next Olympics for sure #EJObiena #Tokyo2020 https://t.co/8ndRs6RdvX

— shh (@shhhstop_) August 3, 2021

Even former Supreme Court spokesperson Ted Te was impressed.

EJ Obiena argued his case and won it. Good example of knowing the rules and being able to assert your position. Congrats on making the final round. And from a fellow fun socks fan, like the socks!

— Ted Te (@TedTe) August 3, 2021

Some of the fans also reminded the public of the achievements on his way to Tokyo.

#Olympics Despite his exit to a podium contention in the Olympics, let's not forget that #EJObiena currently holds the record of 5.87 meters, making him the highest leaper in Asia since 2005.

He is also the first Filipino athlete to qualify for the Olympics.

— Mark Villeza 🇵🇭 (@0523_mark) August 3, 2021

For breaking news and latest developments on the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, visit https://news.abs-cbn.com/tokyo-olympics