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Japanese Swimmer Ikee’s Leukemia in Complete Remission

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
Rikako Ikee gestures after winning the women’s 100-meter butterfly at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Koto Ward, Tokyo, March 18, 2024.

Jiji Press

12:20 JST, September 26, 2024

Tokyo, Sept. 25 (Jiji Press)—Japanese swimmer Rikako Ikee, 24, said on social media Wednesday that her leukemia has gone into complete remission, a state where no signs of the disease can be observed.

Ikee in February 2019 said she had developed leukemia. After anticancer drug treatment, she received hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and was discharged from hospital in autumn 2019.

The swimming star recovered and was able to compete in two Olympics, the Tokyo Games in 2021 and the Paris Games this summer.

“Five years after the transplantation, today I reached complete remission,” Ikee said in a social media post. “The five years were a very long time for me. I’m very happy to have experienced two Olympics in those years.”