Rikako Ikee (20 = Renaissance), who aspires to recover from leukemia, started his first comeback race in 594 days.

She appeared in the women’s 50 meter freestyle with a Japanese record of 24 seconds 21 and ticking 26 seconds 32. She finished first in the same group.

This is the first time in 1 year and 7 months since the Mitsubishi Yowa Sprint on January 13, last year before the leukemia announcement. It erased the standard 26-second 86 record for participation in individual events in the current goal of the Japan Student Championship (October, Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center).

Ikee announced leukemia last February and had a 10-month fight against the disease. Enduring the disease of “throwing up every day and coming back many times a day.” When he was discharged from the hospital in December last year, he set himself a goal of “winning medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.” We resumed the practice in the pool from March of this year. He was starting to move on to the Japan Student Championship.

The Japan Student Championship last September when he was battling illness. Ikee received a temporary leave of absence and clapped for three consecutive days in the Nichidai Battle Seat. I picked up a megaphone, got up, and spoke out loud. I cried for our friends swimming and we took a group photo with our friends about the men’s overall victory on the last day. “I was very happy with the overall win. I was really disappointed that I couldn’t go out this year, so I will definitely get revenge again. GO! Nihondai!” It was only once that Ikie, who was in the hospital, made a comment outside of his SNS and HP. At the time, he was in the middle of a fighting illness, but he encouraged the group photo with his friends to face the leukemia head-on. It can be said that the goal of the Japan Student Championship is an oath from a year ago.

Although he is 20 years old, showing a sudden recovery, he has just returned to the race. Fitness remains the top priority and it is premature to envision future possibilities. The new coronavirus infection is not expected to converge. However, the first step at the age of 20 saying “I want sick people to know that they can become so strong” will be the light of someone somewhere.[Kazuhiro Masuda]