Rikako Ikee had always shown to be a future star in the sport of swimming. As a 15-year-old, she made her international debut by winning two gold medals at the 2015 World Junior Championships.

As a 16-year-old in her first Olympics in 2016, she finished fifth in the final of the 100m butterfly, just 0.23 seconds away from the podium.

As a 17-year-old, she dominated the 2017 World Juniors, winning seven medals, and setting a world junior record in the 50m butterfly which still stands six years later.

By age 18, she became the fourth fastest performer in history in the 100m butterfly. Later that year, she won six gold medals at the Asian Games and was announced as the Games’ most valuable player.

Ikee was on top of the world and one of the top athletes in all of Asia in the lead-up to a home Olympic Games in Tokyo in her home city.

But all that changed in February 2019 when Ikee was diagnosed with Leukemia, a form of cancer that affects the blood.

Swimming had to take a back seat as she focused on her recovery from a serious illness. At one moment she was one of the top swimmers in the world, and then the next she was in a hospital bed unsure if she would ever compete again.

“Certainly the road for my comeback had a lot of disappointment along the way,” Ikee told World Aquatics through a translator. “I felt lonely at times. And much more important in the period where I couldn’t swim, was the time I had to come back and start training and getting back in the water - that was the most difficult period as the training was difficult and I had to come back day after day.

“During that time I certainly felt the support of my teammates and my coaches and the very quiet yet consistent support of my family, and that was something that I really appreciated and something that helped me get through these darker days.”

Although she felt lonely at times, the swimming world was behind her. At the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, Sarah Sjostrom, one of Ikee’s biggest rivals, had suggested to the other two medalists in the women’s 100m butterfly they should write well wishes to Ikee on their hands after the medal ceremony.

It was a touching moment for the sport to remind us that this was bigger than swimming, one that Ikee, who would have been a gold medal favourite in that race, took to heart.

“When I look back at that race, it was one where I really felt like I could have been on that podium but it is not something for me to dwell on today,” Ikee said. “It really showed a huge amount of support, not just from my teammates but also from the other top swimmers around the world. I felt it was a really strong community and it was a great gesture and show of respect and sportsmanship, and it’s something that can bring me to tears when I really think about it.”

The Comeback Trail

When Ikee returned to training in 2020, she was swimming with coach Isamu Nishizaki in Tokyo, where a spot on the Olympic team didn’t seem likely at the time.

Even with the year-long delay of the Olympic Games due to the COVID pandemic, making the Tokyo Games was not put on her goals list for 2021. To make matters worse, Ikee had an injury going into the Olympics that year that hindered her ability to train at her best.

Deep down inside her, however, racing in a home Olympics, even without fans and spectators, was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and one she knew she had to be a part of.

In Tokyo, Ikee took part only in relays, and even though her 100m butterfly relay split was two seconds off her lifetime best, just qualifying for the Olympics was a win and a true showing of the human spirit. The recovery road was expected to be long, and the prospect of getting back to where she was in 2018 was going to be a major challenge. But she was swimming again, and it was a huge moment for her.

“Seeing Rikako Ikee come back to the national team at the Tokyo Olympics was a very inspiring moment for both myself and the entire team,” four-time Japanese Olympian Ryosuke Irie told World Aquatics through a translator “Just seeing her in the water and enjoying swimming is something I think was a positive experience for everybody. Going into Fukuoka, it is likely we will be able to team up in the mixed medley relay and I am really looking forward to having her as a teammate again.”

The Road to Fukuoka 2023

This year in 2023, Ikee will be racing individual events at a major meet for the first time since 2018 before her illness, a fact that means a lot to her especially since she will be doing it in Fukuoka in front of the Japanese faithful.

“Certainly during the Tokyo Olympics we had a chance to represent our country here in Japan but given the lack of spectators it was a very different situation and we are looking forward to quite literally swimming in front of the fans,” Ikee said. “Fukuoka, I believe, is going to mean a lot to me, especially as I come back from my illness and I really look forward to making my mark here.

“I did go into the Games with a little bit less confidence than I have now. Currently I am doing quite well, no injuries, and I have trained well and I believe I can make a good mark here in Fukuoka.”

This year, Ikee is entered in four individual events - where she is ranked 12th in the world in the 100m freestyle amongst those qualified for the World Championships, 13th in the 100m butterfly, and 14th in the 50m freestyle. She will also represent Japan in three additional relays and the 50m butterfly, bringing her event total to seven, which she hasn’t taken on in an international meet since before her illness five years ago.

It is a major step in her recovery from leukemia, but the road is still not finished.

“Certainly I am training very hard so I can do my best this time in Fukuoka, but I also realized I still have a ways to go to really be there at the top of the world and the successes and the wins are not going to simply be given to me but rather I have to continue to pursue them and with the support of the fans and the people around me, I will do my best.”