Japanese swimmer Ikee wins Olympic berth after leukemia
2021-04-05
Rikako Ikee of Japan reacts after winning the women's 100-meter butterfly final at the national swimming championships at Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo, Japan April 4, 2021, in this photo taken by Kyodo. [Photo/Agencies]
TOKYO - Japanese swimmer Rikako Ikee, who returned to competition last August after recovering from leukemia, has qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games by winning the women's 100 meters butterfly at Japan's national championships here on Sunday.
The 20-year-old clocked 57.77 seconds at the Tokyo Aquatics Center, which will host Olympic swimming and diving competitions. The winning time is well outside the required 57.10 seconds for the individual competition, but is enough to book her a berth in the women's 4x100 meters medley relay.
Ikee, who was discharged from hospital in December 2019 after going through 10 months of treatment, will be taking part in her second Olympic Games after competing in seven events at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
She is also set to compete in the 50 and 100 meters freestyle, keeping alive her chances of qualifying for an individual event.
