Rikako Ikee’s Tearful Defeat Sparks Hope for Next 4 Years

Her third attempt ended in tears.

Rikako Ikee, 24, who competed in the women’s 100m butterfly at the Paris Olympics, was eliminated in the semifinals. After the competition, she could not hold back her swelling emotions.

She was not satisfied with her swimming performance from start to finish. He was not satisfied with his swimming performance throughout the competition, and he ended the post-qualifying interview in less than three minutes. After losing in the semifinals, he said, “I wonder if all the hard work I put in was for nothing. I wonder how much longer I will have to suffer,’ she said in tears, and I almost cried myself to tears.

Once again, she failed to win the Olympic medal she had longed for. Still, Yayoi Matsumoto, who was Ikee’s teammate in the women’s 4x100m relay at the Rio Olympics, said, “The journey to Paris was not in vain. She saw hope in Ikee’s swim in the first half of the 50m, where she took advantage of her long reach to come back in third place.

She said, “Ikee’s strong race development, in which she aggressively competes from the first half of the race, has come back. Her dynamic form, which utilized the wide range of motion of her shoulder blades, showed the strength of her prime. This time, however, he was a bit exhausted in the latter half of the race. This was especially noticeable after the last 25m, so I think endurance will be an issue in the future.
Immediately after the race, I posted on SNS, “I will come back in four years to take revenge,” but I am sure I cannot change my mind so easily. Even in such a situation, he has the mental strength to respond to the “strong Ikegoe” that those around him desire, which is quite tough. With such a strong mentality, I am sure that he will be able to overcome this defeat.

Looking back, Ikegoe faced and overcame difficulties many times during his career. The best example of this is the leukemia he was diagnosed with in 1919. The side effects of anti-cancer drugs caused him to vomit five times a day, and he once lost more than 15 kg of weight. Despite this, she continued to work hard, and in 2009 she qualified for the Tokyo Olympics as a member of the relay team.

At last year’s World Swimming Championships, a prelude to the Paris Olympics, he again suffered a setback. She unexpectedly failed to qualify for the 100m butterfly and 50m freestyle, two events in which she excelled. I felt like crying,” she said, revealing her feelings about her failure to qualify in these two events for the first time since the Japan Championships in 2003.

However, Ikee did not give up.

She decided to go to Australia, a strong country, to train as a warrior, and put herself through grueling training, including eight 25-meter swims with 10 kg weights, to build up her strength. All of this was done with the desire to win a medal at the Olympics,” said an official of the Swimming Federation.

In his book, “Swimming Again. In her book, “Swimming Again,” Ikegae reveals that her past experiences have become her family’s bread and butter, saying, “I tell myself that (any ordeal) is not as hard as the hardship of being sick. Every time Ikegae overcomes difficulties, she comes back home a little bigger and a little tougher. Matsumoto also has high expectations for Ikegoe’s evolution.

As Satomi Suzuki, who is competing in this year’s event, broke her personal best at the age of 33, there are many athletes in their 30s who have improved their records. I hope that in four years, when Ikee turns 28, she will come back even bigger and better.

After overcoming her tearful defeat, I am sure that Ikee will show us an even more resilient figure.

From the August 16, 2024 issue of FRIDAY