Jamaican hurdler Hansle Parchment has tracked down and thanked a woman who helped him get to the correct venue at the Tokyo Olympics… where he eventually won gold.
In a video posted to social media, the athlete explains how he thought he’d miss the 110m hurdles semi-final after he “accidentally went on the wrong bus” and ended up at the aquatic area instead of track and field.
And as if that’s not bad enough, all the Tokyo 2020 cars were booked and he had no money on him so his only option was to take a bus back to the Olympic village and then another to the stadium meaning he would possibly miss the start of the event.
Enter Olympics volunteer and good samaritan Trijana Stojkovic.
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“I saw this volunteer and I had to beg because of course, she’s not allowed to do much. And she actually gave me some money to take one of the taxis,” Hansle explains.
“And that’s how I was able to get to the warm-up track at the stadium and with enough time to warm up to compete and that’s just so awesome.”
Hansle, who eventually won the gold medal, decided to find Trijana to show her the gold medal she helped him win and let her know how much her small act of kindness meant to him:
“You were instrumental in getting me to the final that day,” he says in the video.
Hansle also gifted her some official Olympics merch and paid her back for the cab fare, of course.
And now Trijana has been invited by the Jamaican Government to visit the island as a thank you for helping one of their team members!
Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism, has extended an official invitation on behalf of the Government of Jamaica to Trijana Stojkovic, the good Samaritan who assisted one of our Olympians at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. pic.twitter.com/mUecpbF8GO
— Ministry Of Tourism Jamaica (@tourismja) August 10, 2021
Watch their beautiful catch up below:
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(Feature Image Credit: @parchment_hansle/Instagram)