Hansle Parchment rewards the Good Samaritan who paid for his taxi fare on his way to gold in the Olympic 110m hurdles

Most Olympic athletes have a lot of people to thank, from the families who have supported them to the coaches who have overseen their development, when they win a medal. For Jamaican Hansle Parchment, this list includes just one person whose act of kindness on the streets of Tokyo made the difference between fulfilling their Olympic dreams and not fulfilling them.

According to a Sky News report, Parchment was able to track down the stranger who helped him pay for a taxi during the Olympics, when he took a bus to the wrong place for his 110m hurdles semi-final. men. Stranded and with little time to get to the track, Parchment’s saving grace ended up being an Olympic volunteer named Trijana, to whom Parchment returned to show her the gold medal he ultimately won in the test.

Parchment reimbursed the taxi fare Trijana gave her and also gave her a Jamaican t-shirt for her troubles.

In addition to Parchment himself, the Jamaican government is also expected to reward Trijana. According to a report by The gleaner, Trijana is now invited to Jamaica by the government’s Tourism Department.

“It was altruistic what she did; we do not know what the result would have been,” said Edmund Bartlett of the Tourism Department. “No matter where in the world she is, we want to give kindness back to one of our own.”

Parchment ended up winning the 110m hurdles in an event which saw Jamaican athletes take two of the three podium spots. In addition to Parchment, Ronald Levy also ranked by winning the bronze medal in the race. Parchment’s gold medal was the first of his Olympic career and his second overall after winning bronze in the 110-meter hurdles in London 2012.