TOKYO, Japan – Hansle Parchment created one of the biggest upsets in the track and field competition of the Olympics Games in Tokyo on Wednesday evening (Jamaica time), when he won the 110m hurdles with a stunning run, beating red-hot favourite Grant Holloway of the United States in the final.
Parchment, who won bronze in London in 2012, overcame serious injuries this year to make the Jamaican team after he placed third at the national trials and ran a season’s best 13.04 seconds (-0.5m/s) to give Jamaica back-to-back gold medals in the 110m hurdles after Omar McLeod won Jamaica’s first gold in the event in Rio in 2016.
Ronald Levy, the national champion, took the bronze in his first major global final in13.10 seconds, just behind Holloway, the second fastest ever in the event who ran 13.09 seconds.
Parchment, who also has a World Championships silver medal, got off to his customary slow start but caught the leaders including Holloway and Levy and ran past them after the final barrier.
It was the first medals for the Jamaican men at the Games and took the Jamaican tally to seven- three gold, a silver and three bronze.
– Paul A Reid
