(Tokyo) Swimmer Rikako Ikee, a leukemia survivor, will represent Japan in the 100m butterfly at the Paris Olympics after missing out on an individual berth at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
In 2018, Rikako Ikee made history at the age of 18 by winning six gold medals at the Asian Games in Jakarta, becoming the first woman to be named Best Athlete (MVP) in this competition.
PHOTO LEE JIN-MAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Rikako Ikee
A few months later, she announced that she had leukemia and had spent around 10 months hospitalized.
She only returned to competition in August 2020, winning the 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly during qualifying at the Tokyo Olympics.
Her times were not fast enough to qualify for the individual events in Tokyo, but her performances allowed her to be selected for the freestyle and medley relay events.
Now 23, Ikee earned her spot in the 100m butterfly by 0.01 seconds at the Japanese trials earlier this month, holding off Matsumoto Shiho to finish second in 57.34 seconds.
The race was won in an impressive time of 56.91 seconds by 17-year-old Haiari Mazuki, one of many young Japanese talents.
Three-time world champion Daiya Seto will swim the men’s individual medley as part of the 27-member Japanese team selected for the Paris Games, the composition of which was announced by the Japan Swimming Federation on Wednesday.