Japanese Swimmer Rikako Ikee Secures Tokyo Olympics Birth Beating Leukemia

Japanese swimming star?Rikako Ikee?suffered a massive setback in 2019 after she was?diagnosed with leukemia. Now two years later, defying odds, she will now head to Tokyo Olympics in her own country.?

Ikee?secured an Olympics berth after winning the women's 100-meter butterfly at the national championships on Sunday, less than eight months after she returned to competition, Reuters reported.?

AP

After pulling off a spectacular win in dramatic?fashion, the 20-year-old pumped her fist and broke down in tears before being hugged by her opponent in a lane next to hers.? ?

She finished in 57.77 seconds, qualifying her for the 4x100-meter medley relay at this summer's Games.

It's only in sport you see such raw emotion and it was all too visible on Ikee's face as she broke down in tears after an incredible accomplishment. She wouldn't have imagined in her wildest dream to be making it to the Olympics after the misfortune befell her two years ago.?

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"I am so happy right now.?I never thought I would be able to win the 100. I was much less confident than at the Olympic qualifiers five years ago. I thought winning was something that would only happen in the distant future,"?the 20-year-old said in a poolside interview.

It's a script written in the stars and?Ikee's starring in it.?

Occasionally, there comes moments in sports history that are testimonial to the invincible human spirit and their incredible accomplishment. And this is one such instance. This is human spirit overcoming mountain of obstacles.?

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Reuters

Ikee had been expected to be one of Japan's top medal hopefuls at the Tokyo Olympics before she was diagnosed with leukemia in 2019.

She battled back to fitness and returned to competition in August last year. But she had said she was not aiming for Tokyo and that the Paris 2024 Olympics were her goal.

"I wasn't really aiming for victory. No matter what place I come in, I feel happy to be here," she said.?

For Ikee, the wait for realising the Olympic dream won't stretch to Paris after her heroic performance. What better and fitting way to make your bow than in your home country.?

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