Tokyo 2020: Hansle Parchment Thanks Volunteer Who was Instrumental in Him Getting to Final

Jamaican hurdler Hansle Parchment clinched a gold medal in the men’s 110-meter hurdles final at the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics 2020. However, if fate had planned differently, the speedster would never have made it to the venue, let alone win at the event. The gold medalist accidentally got on the wrong bus on the day the semi-final was scheduled. A stranger came to his rescue in time and became Parchment’s hero.

Parchment has now shared a video on Instagram expressing his heartfelt gratitude to the volunteer who helped him reach the Olympics Stadium right in time. The 31-year-old athlete narrated the whole story in the video he shared after his historic win at the race last week.

He was listening to music and realised late that he had ended up at an aquatics centre, shortly before the biggest race of his life was set to begin. He tried to seek help from the Olympics officials who told him that he would have to first reach the Olympic Village and take a bus from there to the correct venue. That is when he saw Trijana, a Tokyo 2020 volunteer. Parchment begged her for help as according to rules she was not allowed to do much. However, she gave him some money to get a cab when he was running late.

Thanks to Trijana’s assistance, Parchment reached the correct address with adequate time to prepare for the race. Parchment said, “That’s how I was able to get to the warm-up in time and had enough time to complete.” After he won gold, he tracked her down and thanked her for her help. He said, “That’s just because you helped me," Parchment said. He then gifted her a yellow Jamaican Olympic shirt and repaid the money she had lent. He showed her his gold medal before they posed for a photo together.

Later, Trijana posted a picture on Instagram of herself wearing her new kit.

Jamaican Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett thanked Trijana. He said, “It is selfless what she did; one would not know what the outcome would have been.”

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