CKF North York Blog - Pediatric Cancer Survivor: Rikako Ikee

Mackenzie Law | July 30, 2021

---

“It's going to be a long hospitalization and long treatment, but I think of what I want to do when I get out and am staying positive.” – Rikako Ikee, a leukemia survivor who is now competing in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

After being postponed for a year, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics are officially underway. Although the postponement did cause some athletes to lose sight of their goals, it had the opposite effect on Rikako Ikee – a swimmer on Team Japan’s relay teams.

Rikako Ikee made her Olympics debut at age 16. She qualified for seven different events at the Rio 2016 Olympics (the largest number among all of the Japanese swimmers) and placed 5th in the 100-metre butterfly event. In the two years that followed, she broke records after records at competitions like Japan Swim and the Asian Games.

However, in 2019, Rikako’s life turned upside down. While training for the Tokyo Olympics, the swimmer was diagnosed with leukemia – a type of blood cancer – and had to press pause on her dreams in order to battle cancer.

During her treatment, Rikako had what the experts call the “eye of the tiger” mentality. Research has shown that a positive and strong mindset during treatment for cancer can lead to more successful treatment outcomes and a smoother recovery. Rikako focused on her dreams and her post-cancer goals, like partaking in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

She went through 10 gruelling months of treatment, and, by March 2020, she was able to get back to training and swimming in races. Upon her return, Rikako certainly wasn’t as fast or as fit as she had once been, but with relentless training, she continued to improve. In February of this year, she finished second in the 50-metre freestyle at the Japan Open. At the Olympic Trials earlier this year, she claimed victory in the 100-metre butterfly event and qualified for the freestyle, medley and mixed relays.

As I’m writing this, her only event that’s finished is the freestyle relay. Although her

team narrowly missed qualifying for the final, the swimmer should be immensely proud of refusing to let cancer get in the way of her dreams.

I’ll be cheering her on during her other races!

A big thank you to our hardworking volunteers, donors and Summer Bucket List participants! If you’re interested in learning more, making a donation or joining the team, follow our instagram (@cancerkidsfirst.northyork) or email us (cancerkidsfirstnorthyork@gmail.com) for more information.

Don’t forget to sign up for the CKF North York Chapter’s Summer Bucket List, and check out the Summer Reading List!!