{"id":445157,"date":"2020-08-29T02:13:05","date_gmt":"2020-08-29T09:13:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=445157"},"modified":"2020-08-29T08:25:23","modified_gmt":"2020-08-29T15:25:23","slug":"tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/","title":{"rendered":"Tokyo Tears As Japanese Star Rikako Ikee Makes Stunning Comeback From Leukemia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tokyo Tears As Japanese Star Rikako Ikee Makes Stunning Comeback From Leukemia<\/strong><\/p>\n

A new chapter in the brave new swimming world of Japanese Olympian Rikako Ikee has begun in Tokyo tonight with a stunning comeback swim in a night of relief and tears, just 594 days since being diagnosed with leukemia.<\/p>\n

The 20-year-old lined up in her first competitive race back during her remarkable recovery, in the women\u2019s 50m freestyle.\u00a0She clocked a time of 26.32 to win her heat, finishing an encouraging fifth overall in the Timed Final two-day event at Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Centre.<\/p>\n

Ikee told Japanese reporters after her swim: “I feel like I’m starting a new chapter in my swimming career…it’s a good way to start.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Shintaro Kano<\/strong> reported on The Olympic Channel:\u00a0<\/em>“(With 15 metres left) I thought I might have a shot here and I just didn’t want to give in….As an athlete, I didn’t want to lose.”<\/p>\n

Swimming in lane three in heat five, Ikee looked noticeably thinner than the rest of the field. But once she leapt off her block, the Rio 2016 Olympian looked surprisingly strong for someone who had not competed for over 19 months. Ikee took just one breath during the race and touched the wall first, 0.44 faster than runner-up Onoda Aoi<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

After climbing out of the pool, Ikee took a bow and shed tears of mixed emotions.<\/p>\n

“More than my time, I didn’t think I’d finish first. That made me happier than anything,” she said.<\/p>\n

The Top Five Times on the night were:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Runa Imai<\/strong> 25.22<\/li>\n
  2. Rika Omoto<\/strong> 25.58<\/li>\n
  3. Mayuka Yamamoto\u00a0<\/strong>25.89<\/li>\n
  4. Yuka Moro<\/strong> 26.17<\/li>\n
  5. Rikako Ikee<\/strong> 26.32<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Ikee’s Japanese National record time stands at 24.21. Ikee also holds Japanese records in the 100 and 200m freestyles, as well as the 50 and 100m butterfly and was named the MVP of the 2018 Asian Games after winning six gold medals.<\/p>\n

    Ikee (Nihon University) had set her goal time of 26.86 seconds to qualify for October’s Inter Collegiate Championships which she achieved.<\/p>\n

    The meet was organised by the Tokyo Swimming Association to give athletes a chance to compete following the cancellation of so many other meets this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n

    A medal contender for the now-postponed Tokyo Olympics before her diagnosis, Ikee was released after a 10-month hospitalization in December, at which time she said on social media that her goal for an Olympic return is the 2024 Paris Games.<\/p>\n

    Ikee delivered a speech at an event marking the start of the one-year countdown to the Tokyo Olympics<\/a> on July 23, calling for the “power of hope” to keep the Olympics on track for July 23, 2021.<\/p>\n

    But having been crowned Japanese Swimmer of the Year after winning six titles at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Ikee sought medical treatment after falling unwell during a three-week training camp under renown Australian Olympic coach Michael Bohl<\/strong> on Australia’s Gold Coast, only to discover that she had leukemia.<\/p>\n

    Finishing sixth in the 100m butterfly at the Rio Games as a 16-year-old, Ikee had been expected to compete for medals at Tokyo 2020.<\/p>\n

    Ikee withdrew from Japan\u2019s 2019 swimming trials to focus on her treatment, missing the Fina World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, last July.<\/p>\n

    At the time of her diagnosis<\/a> Bohl told Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph: “<\/em>We just couldn\u2019t believe it, everyone is so upset.<\/p>\n

    \u201cShe\u2019s got such a great nature and all the kids in the squad absolutely love having her around and they\u2019ve become very close….they go out and have breakfast together all the time.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIt\u2019s just a real shock and everyone was emotional when they were given the news, so we\u2019re just hoping she can make a full recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

    There will no doubt be a tearful reunion next time they all meet on pool deck.<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n
    \"mckeon-macneil-sjostrom-ikee-honor\"

    Emma McKeon, Maggie McNeil, Sarah Sjostrom – ‘fly aces send heartfelt wishes and pay tribute to the absent Rikako Ikee on the podium at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju – Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Tokyo Tears As Japanese Star Rikako Ikee Makes Stunning Comeback From Leukemia A new chapter in the brave new swimming world of Japanese Olympian Rikako Ikee has begun in Tokyo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7938,"featured_media":438394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,122075],"tags":[27538,55674,125164,45316,125166,39607,42777,54219,32196,125165],"class_list":["post-445157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-oceania","tag-emma-mckeon","tag-maggie-mcneil","tag-mayuka-yamamoto","tag-michael-bohl","tag-onoda-aoi","tag-rika-omoto","tag-rikako-ikee","tag-runa-imai","tag-sarah-sjostrom","tag-yuka-moro"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nTokyo Tears As Japanese Star Rikako Ikee Makes Stunning Comeback From Leukemia<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Following a battle with leukemia, Japan's Rikako Ikee made her return to competition on Saturday, winning her heat of the 50 freestyle at a meet in Tokyo.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tokyo Tears As Japanese Star Rikako Ikee Makes Stunning Comeback From Leukemia\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Following a battle with leukemia, Japan's Rikako Ikee made her return to competition on Saturday, winning her heat of the 50 freestyle at a meet in Tokyo.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swimming World\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-08-29T09:13:05+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-08-29T15:25:23+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/rikakoikeepool.jpeg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"840\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ian Hanson - Oceania Correspondent\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ian Hanson - Oceania Correspondent\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ian Hanson - Oceania Correspondent\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8440dfbfa2c11516d012d826615532e6\"},\"headline\":\"Tokyo Tears As Japanese Star Rikako Ikee Makes Stunning Comeback From Leukemia\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-08-29T09:13:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-08-29T15:25:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/\"},\"wordCount\":685,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/rikakoikeepool.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"Emma McKeon\",\"Maggie McNeil\",\"Mayuka Yamamoto\",\"Michael Bohl\",\"Onoda Aoi\",\"Rika Omoto\",\"Rikako Ikee\",\"Runa Imai\",\"Sarah Sjostrom\",\"Yuka Moro\"],\"articleSection\":[\"-Home Slider\",\"Oceania\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/\",\"name\":\"Tokyo Tears As Japanese Star Rikako Ikee Makes Stunning Comeback From Leukemia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/rikakoikeepool.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-08-29T09:13:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-08-29T15:25:23+00:00\",\"description\":\"Following a battle with leukemia, Japan's Rikako Ikee made her return to competition on Saturday, winning her heat of the 50 freestyle at a meet in Tokyo.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/rikakoikeepool.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/rikakoikeepool.jpeg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":840,\"caption\":\"Rikako Ikee lets the media take a peak at her return to practice ahead of a race return in October, pandemic allowing - Photo Courtesy: Kyodo News\/Rikako Ikee\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tokyo Tears As Japanese Star Rikako Ikee Makes Stunning Comeback From Leukemia\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"description\":\"The Global Leader in Aquatic News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"width\":1799,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Swimming World\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8440dfbfa2c11516d012d826615532e6\",\"name\":\"Ian Hanson - Oceania Correspondent\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/user-7938-100x100.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/user-7938-100x100.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Ian Hanson - Oceania Correspondent\"},\"description\":\"Ian is a former News Ltd. Australia Olympic and Swimming correspondent through the 1970s and 80s, who became the first Swimming Australia Media Manager in 1991 and spent the next three decades working with coaches Don Talbot, Leigh Nugent, Alan Thompson and Jacco Verhaeren on the Australian Dolphins Swim Teams. Has attended every Olympic Games since his debut in LA in 1984 and Tokyo 2020 will be Ian's 10th Olympics. Awarded an OAM in 2019 for his services to Australian sport and the media. Father of 2004 Olympic swimming gold and silver medallist Brooke Hanson.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/ianhanson\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tokyo Tears As Japanese Star Rikako Ikee Makes Stunning Comeback From Leukemia","description":"Following a battle with leukemia, Japan's Rikako Ikee made her return to competition on Saturday, winning her heat of the 50 freestyle at a meet in Tokyo.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tokyo Tears As Japanese Star Rikako Ikee Makes Stunning Comeback From Leukemia","og_description":"Following a battle with leukemia, Japan's Rikako Ikee made her return to competition on Saturday, winning her heat of the 50 freestyle at a meet in Tokyo.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/","og_site_name":"Swimming World","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","article_published_time":"2020-08-29T09:13:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-08-29T15:25:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":840,"url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/rikakoikeepool.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ian Hanson - Oceania Correspondent","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@swimmingworld","twitter_site":"@swimmingworld","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ian Hanson - Oceania Correspondent","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/"},"author":{"name":"Ian Hanson - Oceania Correspondent","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8440dfbfa2c11516d012d826615532e6"},"headline":"Tokyo Tears As Japanese Star Rikako Ikee Makes Stunning Comeback From Leukemia","datePublished":"2020-08-29T09:13:05+00:00","dateModified":"2020-08-29T15:25:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/"},"wordCount":685,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/rikakoikeepool.jpeg","keywords":["Emma McKeon","Maggie McNeil","Mayuka Yamamoto","Michael Bohl","Onoda Aoi","Rika Omoto","Rikako Ikee","Runa Imai","Sarah Sjostrom","Yuka Moro"],"articleSection":["-Home Slider","Oceania"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/","name":"Tokyo Tears As Japanese Star Rikako Ikee Makes Stunning Comeback From Leukemia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/rikakoikeepool.jpeg","datePublished":"2020-08-29T09:13:05+00:00","dateModified":"2020-08-29T15:25:23+00:00","description":"Following a battle with leukemia, Japan's Rikako Ikee made her return to competition on Saturday, winning her heat of the 50 freestyle at a meet in Tokyo.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/rikakoikeepool.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/rikakoikeepool.jpeg","width":1280,"height":840,"caption":"Rikako Ikee lets the media take a peak at her return to practice ahead of a race return in October, pandemic allowing - Photo Courtesy: Kyodo News\/Rikako Ikee"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-tears-as-japanese-star-rikako-ikee-makes-stunning-comeback-from-leukemia\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tokyo Tears As Japanese Star Rikako Ikee Makes Stunning Comeback From Leukemia"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","name":"Swimming World","description":"The Global Leader in Aquatic News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization","name":"Swimming World","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","width":1799,"height":900,"caption":"Swimming World"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld","https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8440dfbfa2c11516d012d826615532e6","name":"Ian Hanson - Oceania Correspondent","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/user-7938-100x100.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/user-7938-100x100.jpg","caption":"Ian Hanson - Oceania Correspondent"},"description":"Ian is a former News Ltd. Australia Olympic and Swimming correspondent through the 1970s and 80s, who became the first Swimming Australia Media Manager in 1991 and spent the next three decades working with coaches Don Talbot, Leigh Nugent, Alan Thompson and Jacco Verhaeren on the Australian Dolphins Swim Teams. Has attended every Olympic Games since his debut in LA in 1984 and Tokyo 2020 will be Ian's 10th Olympics. Awarded an OAM in 2019 for his services to Australian sport and the media. Father of 2004 Olympic swimming gold and silver medallist Brooke Hanson.","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/ianhanson\/"}]}},"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"COMEBACK KID: Japan's Rikako Ikee (pictured here in training and in action) has made a stunning comeback in the 50m freestyle in Tokyo tonight. Photo Courtesy: Kyodo News\/Rikako Ikee","source_text":"","source_url":""},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/rikakoikeepool.jpeg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p56Jja-1RNX","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7938"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/438394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}