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In the good news category, 24-year-old Rikako Ikee of Japan revealed today, September 25th, that her leukemia has officially gone into remission.
According to the National Cancer Center’s official website, “complete remission” refers to “a state in which, as a result of treatment, cancer symptoms and abnormalities in tests are no longer found, and normal functions are restored.”
After becoming Pan Pacific Championships gold medalist and the first-ever female Asian Games MVP in 2018, Ikee was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and spent the majority of 2019 in the hospital.
Ikee’s social media post today read, “Five years have passed since my transplant, and today I achieved complete remission!
“Life after I was discharged from the hospital was much harder than I had imagined, and even after I was discharged I had another serious illness and went through periods of mental distress. When I was feeling healthy, I often forgot that I was sick. Even now, I feel that those five years have been very long.
“I am very happy to have been able to experience two Olympic Games in those five years. In competition, I feel the happiness of being able to swim, but also the pain, emptiness, and regret that come with being able to swim. I don’t have the option to run away, so I will continue to fight with myself and give my all in competition.
“I would like to once again express my sincere gratitude to my family, doctors, nurses, my friends who have always been by my side, and to everyone who always supports me.”
Ikee represented Japan for the first time on the Olympic stage as a 16-year-old at the 2016 Games in Rio. She placed 5th in the women’s 100m fly event.
After battling leukemia and undergoing intense treatments, Ikee slowly returned to the pool and the gym in late 2020, remarkably making the Japanese Olympic team for the postponed Games which took place in 2021.
Most recently at this year’s Olympics in Paris, Ikee placed 11th in the 100m fly and was a 5th-place finishing women’s 4x100m medley relay squad member.
