HANGZHOU – Deposed and standing on the unfamiliar second rung of the podium, Rikako Ikee beamed alongside her teammates as they formed heart shapes with their hands above their heads after picking up a women’s 4x100m freestyle relay silver on Sunday.
With hosts China dominating the Asian Games’ swimming events, it looks like a long shot for the Japanese to retain her women’s 50m and 100m freestyle and butterfly titles this week, or return to the top in two more relays.
Regardless, the 23-year-old is already a winner.
Ikee was just 18 in 2018 when she became the first female athlete to be named Asian Games Most Valuable Player after she created history by winning six gold and two silver medals.
But her biggest victory was overcoming leukaemia. After revealing her diagnosis in February 2019, she endured 10 months of treatment during which she received a stem cell transplant. She lost 15kg and her weight plummeted to 40kg.
Incredibly, Ikee started training in March 2020, returned to the pool after nearly 600 days away, put back 10kg to her 1.72m frame, qualified for and competed in three relays at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
She agonisingly missed out on the mixed 4x100m medley and women’s 4x100m frestyle finals after finishing ninth, and placed eighth in the women’s 4x100m medley final, but the results were irrelevant considering what she had been through.
Things have not gone swimmingly as they used to.
Describing her swimming ability as having regressed to “the level in my first or second year of junior high school”, she did not qualify for the 2022 World Aquatics Championships. While she did make it to the 2023 edition, a long course world championships medal continues to elude her.
There was a breakthrough in her favourite hunting ground here at the Asiad, where she returned to the podium at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre.
But, ever the perfectionist, she was brooding over her split of 54.66 seconds which was far off her national record of 52.79sec.
She said: “I enjoyed the moment, but my time and performance were not good. I regret not winning the gold, and I’m disappointed I could not be in my best condition.
“I’m contemplating if I should keep forcing myself to race in this condition.”
It is clear the air of invincibility has been tempered by vulnerability, as she shared how she no longer remembers what her form was like before her illness.
Yet, the desire and fighting spirit remain, as she shared at the packed mixed zone: “We have five more days of competition ahead of us. I believe Japanese swimmers will demonstrate their potential and I plan to be one of them.”
This is backed by a strong work ethic as she attempts to regain her prowess in the pool, her place among the elite and qualify for the Paris Olympics in 2024. At training camps, Ikee would work with the marathon swimmers and clock as much as 7km a day.
She said: “While I may not have the confidence, I know I’ve done everything I can in terms of practice and preparation.
“Having done all I can, it would be a shame to not be able to perform at my best. If I can do that, I think I’ll place high. So, I’m not confident but I have done everything I can.”
And that is all that really matters.
Before he stepped down as Japan national coach, Norimasa Hirai said Ikee has already won everyone over with her story, and she ought to be proud of what she has accomplished under such trying circumstances.
He told Japan Forward: “Overcoming illness and making a comeback indicate how she truly loves swimming. Her swimming not only gives everyone courage, but also shows us many things, such as the significance of continuing to compete and the courage of human beings.”
