Parchment said on Tuesday, the day of the semi-final, he mistakenly went on the wrong bus to the wrong venue, as he was distracted by the music in his ear. His bus eventually stopped at the Olympic Aquatic Center for rowing events, which was a long way from the track and field events.
He met Olympics volunteer Tijana Kawashima Stojkovic, who came to his rescue. Parchment didn’t have enough time to take a return bus to the Olympic Village and then another to the Track and Field Events. Tijana helped him find a taxi where she gave him 10,000 yen (about $100) and told the driver instructions in Japanese to take Parchment to the proper venue.
Parchment shared the story of his rescue and Tijana is being celebrated as a hero in Jamaca by former Jamaica Olympian Ussain Bolt and Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Michael Holness. Tijana is being given a First Class Trip to Jamaica at the invitation of Jamaica’s Ministry of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett.
Some Jamaicans have encouraged the government to award Tijana with honorary citizenship for helping Parchment win the Gold medal for Jamaica.
