Go Tokyo Your Experience
At the Paris Olympics, Japanese swimmer Rikako Ikee fell short in the women’s 100-meter butterfly semifinals on July 27, finishing in sixth place with a time of 57.79 seconds, which was not enough to advance to the finals. Overcome with emotion, Ikee shed tears at the venue, expressing her disappointment in her performance. Despite missing the podium once again, Ikee displayed her indomitable spirit, vowing to make a comeback at the next Olympics.
Rikako Ikee faced the Olympic stage once more in Paris. In the women’s 100-meter butterfly preliminary heats, she barely advanced to the semifinals, ranking 14th. During the semifinals, she momentarily led the pack at the 50-meter turn but slowed down in the latter half, ultimately failing to secure a spot in the top eight. Fellow Japanese swimmer Mizuki Hirai finished third in the same heat with a time of 56.80 seconds, successfully advancing to the finals. The top spot in the semifinals went to American swimmer Gretchen Walsh, who set an Olympic record with a time of 55.38 seconds.
In a post-race interview, an emotional Ikee said, “Honestly, this race made me feel like all my hard work was in vain. But this is a world of winners and losers; if you don’t win, it’s meaningless. I couldn’t give my all in the race, so this is the result. I will come back stronger in the next Olympics to settle this score.”
The 24-year-old Ikee has been a prominent figure in Japanese swimming since the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she qualified for seven events but did not win a medal. In 2019, she was diagnosed with leukemia and underwent nearly a year of treatment and recovery before returning to the pool. After her comeback, she won the 50-meter butterfly at the 2021 Tokyo Open and the women’s 100-meter butterfly at the Japanese Championships, securing her Olympic qualification. In 2023, she won a bronze medal in the women’s 50-meter butterfly at the Hangzhou Asian Games, with a memorable embrace with gold medalist Zhang Yufei touching many fans.