Rikako Ikee is set to return to racing for the first time since January 2019 at the Tokyo Special Swimming Tournament this weekend which will also feature Junya Koga on his comeback from a drug ban.
So too will the likes of Kosuke Hagino – slated for the 200 free and 200IM – and Ryosuke Irie take to the water at the Tatsumi International Swimming Centre.
Ikee, the six-time 2018 Asian Games champion, made public she had leukemia in February last year and spent much of 2019 receiving treatment in hospital before being discharged in December.
Rikako Ikee lets the media take a peek at her return to practice ahead of a race return in October: Photo Courtesy: Kyodo News/Rikako Ikee
The 20-year-old revealed in March that she had returned to the pool for the first time in 406 days.
Her long-term goal is to race at Paris 2024 and she will take on the 50 free this Saturday.
The meet has been organised to give swimmers a racing opportunity after the pandemic cut a swathe across the world.
The Tokyo Swimming Association said:
“We will hold the Tokyo Special Swimming Tournament as a break from the goals we have made (and) efforts to date and as a start towards new goals.
“We will thoroughly implement preventive measures against new coronavirus infectious diseases at this event. In order to avoid crowding, it is necessary to strictly manage the number of participants, and we have set participation restrictions such as standard participation records.
“Please understand that the standard record is set with safety as the highest priority.”
Also competing will be backstroke specialist Irie, triple medallist at London 2012, where he will be joined by 2009 100m world champion Koga, on his comeback from a drug ban.
Koga was initially suspended for four years in 2018 after failing a doping test for ostarine and ligrandrol which he claimed came as a result of taking dietary supplements.
In August 2019, the Court of Arbitration for Sport cut that to two years after it was found that his supplements may have been contaminated.
Junya Koga: Photo Courtesy: David Farr
It meant his ban ran out in May 2020 – too late to make the Japan team for Tokyo 2020 had it gone ahead as scheduled but now in place to try to qualify for the rescheduled Games next year.
Another making a comeback from a doping ban is IM specialist Takeharu Fujimori who was handed a four-month suspension by the Japan Anti-Doping Agency (JADA) in November 2019 after testing positive for Osterin, a banned drug that has muscle strengthening effects.
Shinri Shioura, the 2018 Asian Games 100 free men’s champion, and Rio Shirai, who won 4×100 free gold alongside Ikee at the same competition, will also take to the water, looking to continue the rise which saw her go 2:07.87 in the 200 back in March.
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