{"id":432487,"date":"2020-05-19T02:10:29","date_gmt":"2020-05-19T09:10:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=432487"},"modified":"2020-05-19T02:10:29","modified_gmt":"2020-05-19T09:10:29","slug":"rikako-ikee-being-alive-is-a-miracle-as-she-looks-to-inspire-following-leukemia-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/rikako-ikee-being-alive-is-a-miracle-as-she-looks-to-inspire-following-leukemia-battle\/","title":{"rendered":"Rikako Ikee: Being Alive Is A Miracle As She Looks To Inspire Following Leukemia Battle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rikako Ikee<\/strong>, the six-time 2018 Asian Games<\/strong> champion, has described being alive as \u201ca miracle in itself\u201d in a social media post.<\/p>\n

The Japanese 19-year-old was diagnosed with leukemia in February 2019 and subsequently underwent 10 months of treatment before leaving hospital in December.<\/p>\n

The 2018 Pan Pacific<\/strong> 100 fly champion returned to the water for the first time in 406 days in March<\/a>, days before the postponement of the 2020 Olympics<\/strong> in her native Tokyo in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n

Ikee now sports short hair and is proud to \u201cpresent myself as I am\u201d.<\/p>\n

She posted to Instagram, saying:<\/p>\n

“Today for the first time, I’m showing everyone the way I look right now.<\/p>\n
“To me, it’s a miracle I’m alive. Just being here is a miracle in itself.<\/p>\n
“As a swimmer, I don’t wear makeup and there’s no hiding your muscles in the pool. Now I just present myself as I am.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A post shared by Rikako Ikee (@ikee.rikako)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n