Japan swimmer Rikako Iki wins Olympic relay spot after Olympia

Japanese swimmer Rikko Iki missed an individual spot but qualified for the medley relay at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, two years after suffering from leukemia. “I didn’t think I’d finish the qualifying time, so I’m very happy,” she said. Iki resumed training in March last year after being hospitalized for nearly 10 months following her diagnosis in February 2019. The 20-year-old firmly entered the berth at the Paris Games in 2024 with his first race in August.

But she booked her place in this coronovirus-post event in Summer after winning the 100-meter Butterfly in Japan’s Olympic Trials in Tokyo with a time of 57.77 seconds.

The time was not enough to qualify for the Olympic butterfly competition, but it made it to Japan’s medley relay team.

Promoted

“I wasn’t involved in the trials five years ago,” she said through tears after the race.

“I thought it would be much later that I would be able to start winning.”