DESPITE having a less than ideal 2025, Olympic champion Hansle Parchment says he still has what it takes to challenge Jamaica’s strong and emerging talent in the men’s 110m hurdles.

Parchment has yet to compete in his pet event this year but he opened his season in the 200m at Velocity Fest at the National Stadium in March, clocking 21.81 seconds for sixth.

It’s his earliest start to a season since March 2020 and just the third time in 10 years that he’s opened his campaign with an event outside of the 110mH.

Parchment, 35, says his condition is already ahead of where it was in 2025.

“I feel like this year is a better year for me compared to last year in terms of preparation,” he told the Jamaica Observer. “I feel like I’m a bit ahead of where I was last year. I’m really looking forward to making this season one of my best.“

Last year was a relatively quiet one for Parchment.

After winning silver at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, he was unable to challenge for another medal after missing out on the Tokyo World Championships last September after finishing sixth at the National Senior Championships in June.

It was the first time since 2019 that Parchment didn’t compete at a major championship, having won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, making the final of the Eugene World Championships in 2022, and finishing eighth at the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Competing in a total of nine 110mhH races last year, his season’s best 13.24 seconds at the Gyulai Istvan Memorial in Hungary last August was his slowest since 2019 and joint third-slowest of his professional career.

In Parchment’s absence at the World Championships, Orlando Bennett and Tyler Mason won silver and bronze ,while 21-year-old Demario Prince made the semi-finals, months after clocking 13.12 seconds — making him the seventh-fastest Jamaican of all time. Olympic bronze medallist Rasheed Broadbell was unable to compete due to injury, but he is expected to make a return this year, aiming to better his personal best 12.94 seconds.

Parchment may be the elder statesman in a strong field, but he’s not planning to fade into the shadows.

“I know what the goals are and what I’m trying to achieve,” he said. “Even though I’m older now, I’m trying to push myself just how I pushed myself years ago. I’m trying to aim for personal bests, personal records, and challenge the youngsters, let them know that I’m still here. The numbers and my age might look ‘nuff’, but I’m young in spirit, young in mind and I’m raring to go. So I want to put up a very good challenge and make it exciting.”

However, competition isn’t everything as Parchment wants to continue being a mentor for the new generation.

“It’s always one of my goals to bring the youngsters in to continue the tradition, because I’m almost on my way out,” he said. “So I want to leave a great legacy for other people to join in and build up Jamaica even further,” he reasoned.

Parchment is arguably Jamaica’s most successful sprint hurdler with multiple Olympic and World Championships medals and his 12.94 seconds makes his Jamaica’s second-fastest man, and 15th fastest in the history of the event.

There’s no major championship this year, although athletes will have the opportunity to compete at the Commonwealth Games in July and the World Athletics Ultimate Championships in September.

Parchment says he’s motivated to add to his accolades and have a dominant season.

“My aim is to run a healthy season — chase times, of course, trying to see how close I am or if I can beat my personal best time. There’s the national record. There’s so much to gun for,” he said.

“They have the ultimate championship this year, which is basically top 16 in the world, so that’s something to look forward to as well. There’s a lot of things going on this year. It’s no different than a championship year, at least I don’t approach it any differently.”

PARCHMENT…even though I’m older now, I’m trying to push myself just how I pushed myself years ago. I’m trying to aim for personal bests, personal records and challenge the youngsters, let them know that I’m still here (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

From left: Rasheed Broadbell, Hansle Parchment, and Orlando Bennett, Jamaica’s 110m hurdlers. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

Jamaica’s Hansle Parchment trains at Leichtathletik Baden-Württemberg in Stuttgart, Germany, on Monday, July 22, 2024.(Photo: Naphtali Junior)