Calacus Weekly Hit & Miss – Hansle Parchment & CJ Ujah
Every Monday we look at the best and worst communicators in the sports world from the previous week.
HIT - HANSLE PARCHMENT
It’s one of the biggest days of your life.
You’re going for gold at the Olympic Games.
But when you get off the bus, you realise you’ve gone to the wrong place and your medal hopes lie in tatters.
That’s exactly what happened to Hansle Parchment at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games when he somehow managed to get to an aquatics centre instead of the Olympic Stadium, some 11 miles away.
With all the official cars already booked and a return bus likely to take too long, he was in trouble.
“If I had done that, I wouldn’t get there in time to even warm up. I had to find another way. I was trying to get one of the branded cars for the Games to take me, but these people are very strict and adhering to the rules, and I would have to have to book the car from beforehand to get it to leave,” explained Parchment in a video recorded during the Games which has captured the attention of sports fans.
"I saw this volunteer and I had to beg... and she actually gave me some money to take one of the taxis. 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.”
The story does not end there, of course.
Parchment stunned Team USA favourite Grant Holloway to win the gold medal, but he did not forget the kindness of the volunteer who helped him out.
It would have been so easy for Parchment to put the travel mix-up down to experience and never mention it again.
But he showed humility and kindness by tracking down the volunteer, whom he called Tiana.
He documented his journey as he tracked her down: "I'm going to find her and show her my gold medal that I was able to get because she helped me.”
She is in more or less the same place where she had helped him a few days beforehand, giving him the chance to thank her, show her the gold medal, give her a Jamaican Olympic shirt and repay the money she had lent him.
The volunteer was praised by Jamaica's Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, who shared the video on Twitter and wrote: "Every Jamaican knows that gratitude is a must. @ParchmentHansle demonstrates that perfectly here."
The country's Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has invited the woman to visit Jamaica, he told local newspaper The Gleaner.
"It is selfless what she did; one would not know what the outcome would have been.
“No matter where in the world she is, we want to reciprocate the kindness shown to one of our own.”
MISS – CJ UJAH
Team GB was rocked last week when sprinter CJ Ujah was provisionally banned after testing positive for a banned substance.
Ujah was part of Team GB men's 4x100m relay team that also included Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, which won silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games earlier this month.
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said: “The sample was collected by the ITA under the Testing Authority of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during an in-competition anti-doping control on 6 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, following the final of the Men’s 4 x 100m Relay Final. The result was reported by the WADA-accredited laboratory of Tokyo on 8 August 2021.
“The athlete has the right to request the analysis of the B sample. If requested by the athlete and if the B sample analysis confirms the Adverse Analytical Finding, or alternatively if the athlete does not wish to have the B sample analysis undertaken, the case will be referred to the Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport for adjudication under the IOC Anti-Doping Rules applicable to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
“The CAS ADD will consider the matter of the finding of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation and the disqualification of the Men’s 4 x 100m Relay results of the British team.”
It’s understandable that UK Athletics did not comment given that the case is now ongoing and Ujah remains innocent until the investigation is complete.
And while Ujah requires guidance and caution in what he says, the silence in the immediate aftermath of the news was deafening.
Particularly in this era of social media, Ujah should have made a statement explaining his position, expressing regret or confusion and addressing the investigation head-on.
When a crisis strikes, saying nothing simply gives room for others to fill the void, and misses the opportunity to take advantage of the right to reply.
It was not until Saturday afternoon that Ujah issues a response, via the Press Association news wire.
He said: “To be absolutely clear, I am not a cheat. I have never and would never knowingly take a banned substance.
“It's taken me a few days to process the information I received on Thursday, shortly before it was made public. I am completely shocked and devastated by this news.
"I love my sport and I know my responsibilities both as an athlete and as a team-mate. I am respecting the formal processes and will not be making any further comment until it is appropriate to do so."
While PA is a good channel to distribute news or statements, it was surprising that Ujah did not use his social media channels to also communicate the news, given the more targeted benefits of reaching his followers and fans.
Meanwhile, Lamont Marcell Jacobs, who shocked the world by winning the 100m sprint, has raised eyebrows when he also announced this week that he would not compete again this season.
With his stock high after becoming the Olympic Champion, Jacobs, who was the seen as an underdog before he raced to victory, has had his integrity brought into question given his lack of success at world level in the past.
But Jacobs lacked a bit of class when he scoffed at Ujah’s predicament according to a report in Italian newspaper Tuttosport: “Having seen the investigation into Ujah I would say that perhaps it’s better [for the British] to look closer to home before attacking others. It made me smile.”
It was left to Hugh Robertson, Chairman of the British Olympic Association, to show Ujah some support while the investigation continues.
"It's absolutely tragic for the other members of the relay team," Sir Hugh told The Times. "It is very disappointing news but he remains innocent until proven guilty and we will absolutely respect the process."
Ujah can request analysis of his B sample. Should that confirm the adverse analytical finding, the case will be referred to the Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport.