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Rikako Ikee, Japan swim star back from leukemia, mulls Tokyo Olympic run

Rikako Ikee, the Japanese swim star coming back from leukemia, reportedly said she is considering moving up her Olympic comeback bid from 2024 to 2021.

Ikee, who was a Tokyo Olympic medal contender before her February 2019 diagnosis, said she would like to vie for a 2021 Olympic spot if possible, according to Sankei Sports, a major daily sports newspaper in Japan.

Ikee, 20, previously repeated that her goal was the 2024 Paris Games.

“I think my swimming ability has returned to about the level in my first or second year of junior high school,” Ikee said in July, according to a Kyodo News translation, after being discharged from a 10-month hospitalization in December 2019.