Rikako Ikee (20 = Renaissance), who aspires to recover from leukemia, scored his first victory in race five since his return to racing in August last year. In the 50-meter butterfly of the non-Olympic event (Olympic), he took first place in the general classification in 26.38 seconds. The final was 25 seconds 77 and the victory was V. With a good record equivalent to eighth place in the XIX World Championships, he will surely qualify for the Japan Championship, which also serves as an Olympic team. This qualifies for freestyle and butterfly events of 50 meters, 100 meters and 4 events respectively. The Tokyo Olympics, which are in the middle of the 2012 Paris Olympics, which is a huge goal, were also in the offing.

Quick. Ikee took his first breath near the remaining 13 meters and pushed him. 25 seconds 77. “It’s about 25 seconds. I’m very happy to be the first in any game.” He got his first victory in the “Second Swimming Life” that returned on August 29 of last year. He is 0.66 seconds behind his own Japanese record of 25.11 seconds, beating the time of last year’s Japan V Championship. Large-scale butterfly practice is an amazing time considering just one week. “If you are in your current state, you can give 85 points. I feel safe.”

The Japan Championship, which also serves as a selection for the Olympics, is the fourth event and you are definitely qualified to participate. “The direction to exit is decided. After that, I think about the number of events when looking at the damage to my body. I want to aim for a good position to exit.” On top of that, he said about the Tokyo Olympics: “I think everyone is aiming as athletes, so I will do my best to achieve it.” The big goal is the same for the 2012 Paris Olympics, but he revealed that he also sees the Tokyo Olympics on the way.[Kazuhiro Masuda]