Jamaican sprinter struck Olympic gold despite reaching wrong venue on race day, here's how

Jamaican sprinter Hansle Parchment successfully clinched the gold medal in the recently-concluded Tokyo Olympics 2020 men's 110m hurdles race. However, his victory did not come before its fair share of struggles with a mix of drama, all of which unfolded on the race day itself.

Tokyo Olympics 2020: Sprinter reaches wrong venue

It so happened that the gold medal-winning Jamaican sprinter Hansle Parchment finished at the top of the podium despite reaching the wrong venue on the most important day of his life. Not only did the Jamaican sprinter narrate the entire incident on social media but also explained how a volunteer showed kindness and helped him get out of that situation.

Giving further clarification on the same, Parchment said that the volunteer had paid him money to hire a taxi so that he could reach the correct venue which he did just in time and then went on to win the biggest prize of the prestigious tournament.

"For the semifinals, I accidentally went on the wrong bus to the wrong venue. I had music in my ears, wasn't hearing anything that the people on the bus were saying but I saw the sign at the top saying athletics track. So I just went on without even thinking about it and I was on my phone listening to music. By the time I looked up I realised this bus is going the wrong way. I'm not familiar with these surroundings", Parchment said in a video posted by him on his official Instagram page.

"I tried to find one of the Tokyo 2020 cars to take me to the other venue but these people are very strict. I saw this volunteer, she actually gave me some money to take one of the taxis that are affiliated with the Games. That's how I was able to get to the warm-up track in the stadium with enough time to warm up and compete", he added.

Jamaican sprinter wins gold

Hansle Parchment did compete and more than just being a participant, he gave his best shot and proved to be better than all other participants. He won the race in a season-best time of 13.04 s to clinch the Olympic gold medal. USA's Grant Holloway won silver while Parchment's Jamaican teammate Ronald Levy settled for bronze. The incident took place on August 5.

After securing his victory, Parchment was not done yet. He had to express gratitude to that special person who helped him when he was in a spot of bother prior to the race and he did so by finding and acknowledging her.

"You were instrumental in me getting to the finals that day. That is just because you helped me," Parchment said as he showed his gold medal to the volunteer. The Jamaican sprinter also gifted her a shirt and repaid the money that he owed her.

Watch the video here: