THE story surrounding the triumph of 110 metre hurdler Mr Hansle Parchment at the Tokyo Olympic Games in early August 2021 is now among the centrepieces of athletic folklore.

Relaxed and listening to music, Mr Parchment boarded the wrong bus on the day of his scheduled semi-final run.

He ended up at the Olympic aquatics centre in Tokyo, Japan, far away from the track and field stadium.

To his credit, Mr Parchment didn’t panic. He sought help. It came from a volunteer who went beyond the call of duty by giving him money to take a taxi which got him to the stadium in time to get warm for the semi-final.

We can only imagine the effort to calm nerves and regain focus ahead of the starter’s gun.

Mr Parchment did what he had to do, placing second to qualify for the Olympic final. The following day he claimed the Olympic gold medal, the second-ever by a Jamaican in the 110 metre hurdles.

It’s testament to Mr Parchment’s maturity and good sense that, even as he celebrated what was undoubtedly the pinnacle of his career, he knew he had to say thanks.

He went back to the aquatic centre and found that kind volunteer, Ms Teiyana Kawashima Stojkovic, making clear as he said thanks that without her, he would not have achieved glory.

Jamaica has since said thanks — Ms Stojkovic and her family accepting a long-standing invitation in February last year for vacation here.

Ms Stojkovic’s decision to help a desperate athlete from a strange and distant land served as great advertisement for the Tokyo Olympics, the Olympic movement, and the Japanese people.

Beyond that, Mr Parchment’s success in shaking off near calamity to get the job done underlined a mental strength evident since his bronze medal run as a 22-year-old at the 2012 London Olympics.

Despite his athleticism and great foot speed, Mr Parchment at six feet, five inches is a notoriously slow starter — a weakness common to many tall sprinters. Some may remember his way-too-late start in the 110m final in London; and then, our astonishment as he held his form to rapidly close down the field for bronze at the line.

“Oh…. for a few more metres,” summed up our verbal and non-verbal cries back then.

Mr Parchment followed up with silver at the 2015 World Championships. Thereafter, injuries — including hamstring strains with genesis in his high school years — threatened his career.

Intriguingly the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down physical activity in 2020 and delayed the Tokyo Olympics, provided unscheduled rest and recovery time.

Also, as Mr Parchment later told World Athletics, a late tweak to his technique may well have made the essential difference in Tokyo.

American Mr Grant Holloway, coming off 23-straight sprint hurdles victories, entered the gold medal race as run-away favourite.

But aided by that technical tweak Mr Parchment found himself closer to his great rival than was usually the case over the first hurdle. His accustomed, storming finish took him over the line for the gold medal with his final step.

Unfazed by disappointment in 2024 and 2025, Mr Parchment knows the time to walk is close but says he is not yet ready. We are struck by his commitment to mentor youth in order to “continue the tradition”.

We speak for all well-thinking people in wishing Jamaica’s greatest sprint hurdler all that’s good as he charts his forward course.