Although realistic about her current standing in the swimming world, Japanese prodigy and leukemia survivor
Ikee appeared at the 2015 and 2017 worlds as well as the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics before being diagnosed with the disease in
Her May return to overseas competition produced disappointment, however. Ikee failed to win in her favorite race, the 50-meter fly, at the three
"It was really fun. It was a tough tournament as I failed to perform well, but I gathered good experience alongside many swimmers who will be competing at the top level at the worlds."
"I had amazing communication with swimmers from overseas and could interact with those who developed while I was sick. I was happy to be recognized."
Ikee, who set two national records at the 2018
"Those are my results, but it feels like a different person produced them," she said. "Because other Japanese swimmers did well this time, I felt so weak and empty. I even think, 'I could do that before' or 'What if I didn't get sick.'"
"I still have my technique but there's no power. I'm spinning my gears because of that mismatch, and can't swim the way I'm best at, so it's troubling."
At the
"I'm really fired up emotionally. Since the nationals ended, I've been thinking I absolutely want to produce the goods and give my all," she said. "I'll get some proper training under my belt and get physically bigger before the tournament."
While stating she has a specific target in
"I want to reach the 50 fly final, but I'm really worried after the
"First and foremost, I aim to make
==Kyodo
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