After more than a year of leukemia treatment, Ikee back in the pool

Olympic hopeful Rikako Ikee returned to competitive swimming Saturday after undergoing treatment for leukemia for more than a year.

The 20-year-old from Japan would have been among the favorites in several races if she had not fallen ill and the Tokyo Olympics had taken place on schedule last month.

Ikee’s best event is probably the 100-meter butterfly, in which she was nearing the world record until she last swam in early 2019.

She marked her return in a 50-meter freestyle heat in a local meet in Tokyo, clocking 26.32 seconds. Her national record time is 24.21 in the event.

“I feel like I have started the second chapter of my swimming career,” she said, speaking in Japanese.

Ikee won six gold medals two years ago at the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, which included the 50- and 100-meter freestyle, and the 50- and 100-meter butterfly. She also won gold in two relays, and added two silvers.

She says her next goal is to reach the 2024 Olympics in Paris. She intends to swim in an intercollegiate meet in October, and has not talked about trying to qualify for Tokyo next year.

“I was extremely nervous,” she said.“But I was able to swim faster than my target time of 26.80. I think I was able to make a good restart.”

A month ago she appeared in Tokyo’s new National Stadium where the opening ceremony would have been held. She was part of a brief video message to encourage other athletes to be hopeful the Olympics will take place next year.