Japanese swimmer Rikako Ikee said she “didn’t know what had just happened” after qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics medley relay on Sunday, just two years after being diagnosed with leukaemia.
Ikee, who only resumed training in March last year after being hospitalised for around 10 months, won the 100-metre butterfly race at Japan’s Olympic trials in Tokyo in a time of 57.77 seconds. That was not enough to earn her an individual spot at the Coronavirus-delayed Tokyo Games, but it did make her eligible for Japan’s relay team, capping an incredible comeback for the 20-year-old.
