Leukemia survivor and Japanese swimming superstar Rikako Ikee, 20, has qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on Sunday April 4, at Japan’s national swimming championships.
Just two years after she was
diagnosed with cancer in February 2019, Ikee came back stronger than ever in
the pool and swam a time of 57.77 in the 100m fly last week, allowing her to
secure a place in the Olympic women’s medley relay team (she won’t take part in
any individual race).
The national championships took place
at the new swimming venue for the Tokyo Olympics, giving all the participating
athletes a taste of what will be one of the highlights of their swimming
career, in less than four months.
Coming out of the pool in tears, the
winner said to Associated Press:
“I was not expecting to win the 100m
at all, and I was feeling far less confident than during the Olympic qualifiers
five years ago.”
“I thought I wouldn’t be able to win
for a long time. But I trained hard to win. And, in the end, I came into the
race telling myself I’m back. And so I feel that, even if you go through
suffering and pain, your hard work will always be rewarded.”
Ikee, an inspiration to all of us for
her resilience and perseverance, had always set her goals for the Paris 2024
Olympics and was not expecting to be at her best form for her Games on home
soil.
Her objectives now might have
slightly turned with this amazing and encouraging win!
Rikako Ikee finished sixth in the
100m butterfly in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, while she claimed five
World Junior titles and three bronze medals at the World Swimming Championships
(25m). You can check out her tally and profile on FINA new athletes section
HERE.
Many other swimmers around the world
celebrated her accomplishment.
The Fédération Internationale de
Natation, FINA (founded in 1908) is the governing body for aquatics worldwide.
Its five disciplines - Swimming, Open
Water Swimming, Diving, Water Polo and Artistic Swimming - are all included in the
Olympic programme. High Diving is on the World Championships programme since
2013. FINA organises World Championships, World Swimming Championships in
25m-pool and World Masters Championships every two years. FINA counts 209
affiliated National Federations on the five continents and has its headquarters
in Lausanne (SUI).
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