Jamaica Olympic 110m hurdles champion Hansle Parchment revealed that he almost missed his semifinals in Tokyo after he mistakenly got on the wrong bus.
In a video posted on his Instagram account, Parchment acknowledged the kindness that was shown to him by a volunteer who assisted him to reach the Olympic Stadium in time for his race.
The 31-year-old revealed that he got distracted by his phone while listening to music and got a bus that took him to the centre for aquatics.
Click Here To Watch His Touching Video
However, with time running out for him to return to the athletes’ village and then get the correct bus to the stadium, Parchment sort help and he was assisted by a kind female volunteer who gave him some money to take a taxi.
“For the semi-finals, I accidentally went on the wrong bus to the wrong venue,” he admitted. “I saw the sign at the top at that bus stand saying athletics track so I just went on not even thinking about it.
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“I was on my phone listening to the music and by the time I looked up, I realized no this bus is going the wrong way, I’m not familiar with any of this surrounding.”
He added: “I saw this volunteer and I had to beg because of course she is not allowed to do much and she actually gave me some money to take one of the taxis that are affiliated with the games.”
After winning his gold medal, Parchment returned to show his appreciation by returning the money the volunteer gave him in addition to gifting her a Jamaican shirt.
“I’m back to repay you and show you something. You were instrumental in me getting to the finals that day,” he said while showing her the gold medal.
“Really, really you won this. That’s just because you helped me to get to the stadium.”
