Filipino-American skateboarder Jericho Francisco at the 2026 Asian Games, September 25, 2026 at the Aichi prefecture in Japan. POC Media
MANILA — A podium finish was not in the cards for Filipino-American skateboarder Jericho "Kiko" Francisco Jr. in the 2026 Asian Games, but he walked away from the competition with no regrets and plenty of treasured memories.
Francisco finished fourth in the Men's Park Final with 84.41 points, coming just 1.62 points short of the bronze medal.
Japan's Shiji Gunji took bronze with 86.03, while Chinese Taipei's Ku Yong-yan won silver with 87.33. Japan's Izuru Nagahara claimed gold with 88.96.
READ: PH's Jericho Francisco misses skateboarding podium
But Francisco, who entered the competition with limited preparation and "literally no expectations," was pleased with his performance and the experience as a whole.
"I am beyond happy with my performance. I could not be any happier. Dude, I came into this with literally no expectation," he said. "I've put in maybe 10 hours of practice, including the practice time to prepare for this. So I was not expecting much."
A two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, Francisco still delivered a strong performance in the final, and was in the running for the podium until the final run. More importantly, he said he was finally able to approach a major competition without the pressure and nervousness that had accompanied him throughout much of his career.
"Everything I did out there on that course was something I wanted to do, and it felt amazing," he said.
"For the past 10 years, I'm always nervous and I'm always trying to do stuff I don't want to do. And I really had a lot of free range competition. I had a lot of fun. Completely. No regrets," he added.
That freedom allowed Francisco to enjoy what he described as one of the most enjoyable competitions of his career.
"I had a great time. This is probably one of the most fun competitions I've had in the past 10 years probably," said the 24-year-old.
Francisco's Asian Games campaign also carried a special significance because of his connection to one of the Philippines' youngest skateboarding stars, Mazel Paris.
Francisco has been coaching skateboarding for the past four years through First Class Skate, his coaching business, and Paris was among his earliest students.
"Mazel was actually one of my second students ever, and I've been a professional skateboard coach for the past four years now," he revealed.
Seeing both himself and his student compete on the Asian Games stage was a moment of pride for Francisco.
"To see that we are competing at the top level of skateboarding, it's really incredible," said the coach.
Paris went on to finish fifth in the Women's Park Final, recording a best score of 80.65 and coming within 2.21 points of the bronze medal.
READ: 12-year-old Mazel Paris finishes fifth in women's skateboarding
Francisco has also worked with other young Filipino skateboarders, including Elizabeth Amador, as he continues to build his role beyond his own competitive career.
His work as a coach has become an important part of his vision for the future of Philippine skateboarding.
With his Asian Games campaign now over, Francisco's attention turns back home and toward First Class Skate. Rather than focusing solely on his own competitive career, he wants to use his experience to help young skateboarders reach the international stage.
His goal is to create more opportunities for young athletes to experience the same level of competition he has encountered throughout his career.
"I really want to take kids all over the world to the next level just so they can compete at this type of stage," said Francisco.