- A Japanese swimmer was treated at the poolside
- It comes after a 10-month battle with leukemia.
- Second swimmer to collapse at Paris Games
A second swimmer collapsed on the pool surface after an Olympic race at Paris La Défense Arena, while a Japanese athlete recovering from leukaemia stunned the crowd on Sunday.
The incident came just days after 21-year-old Slovak swimmer Tamara Potocka collapsed and was taken on a stretcher to the Paris Aquatic Centre.
Medical staff rushed to help Japan’s Rikako Ikee, who collapsed moments after the end of the women’s 4x100m medley relay.
The 24-year-old was walking from post-race television interviews to the mixed zone when she suddenly fell to the ground.
Ikee finished fifth at the 2016 Rio Olympics at just 16 years old. At 18, she was expected to excel at the Tokyo Olympics, having been named MVP of the 2018 Asian Games, where she won six gold and two silver medals.
However, in early 2019 he was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia and spent about 10 months in hospital. His recovery has been remarkable.
She trained in Australia with Michael Bohl, coach of Stephanie Rice, Kaylee McKeown and Emma McKeon, before returning to Japan earlier this year for the Olympic trials.
“We’ve had quite a few Japanese swimmers training with us ~ the relationship and cooperation between Japan and Australia is very good,” Bohl said in 2023.
Japan’s Rikako Ikee collapsed poolside in Paris after finishing her race, she was on track to make a comeback after battling leukemia for 10 months in 2020.
Rio Sharai, Satomi Suzuki, Mizuki Hirai and Rikako Ikee of Team Japan hug after competing in the final of the women’s 4x100m medley relay
Ikee was the second swimmer to collapse in the Paris pool after Slovakia’s Tamara Potocka needed medical treatment.
Ikee collapsed while moving from a television interview to the mixed zone and was quickly surrounded by medical personnel. Towels were used to protect her as she was carried out of sight.
Team Japan’s social media team posted a congratulations to Ikee for her fifth-place finish, but had not mentioned her collapse at the time of publication.
Bohl’s right-hand assistant, Janelle Pallister, said before the Olympics that Rikako had chosen to live and train in Australia to escape the glare of publicity back home in Japan.
“We don’t have any superstars,” he said.
“We are all equal, so she can be just another swimmer. She is just another swimmer on the team who is training to be the best she can be.”
Ikee has been living and training in Australia, coached by Michael Bohl (pictured right with Cody Simpson)
“She’s not a superstar. She’s just Rikkie, not Ikee Rikako. In Australia she’s just another person. She can enjoy training, enjoy her life without, I guess, extra pressure,” Pallister continued.
‘It’s great that she has that notoriety (in Japan). It’s great for her because that’s what swimming is all about. You have Daiya (Seto), you have Honda (Tomoru), you have Kitajima (Kosuke) – you have so many stars here and they need to be able to do what they want to do.
“But when they’re training, they have to just be other people.”