Japan’s three-time Olympian left Paris 2024 empty-handed. With 50m events added to the 2028 Games programme, Ikee sees the light – especially in the butterfly.
Will Ikee Rikako finally win the elusive Olympic medal she’s been chasing her whole career at LA28?
That remains to be seen but for starters, Ikee feels like it will be her best shot yet – in the 50m butterfly, newly added to the Games swimming programme for 2028.
“You don’t see many Japanese swimmers who can compete in the 50m, in any stroke,” Ikee said at the National Training Center in Tokyo in late March, shortly after making Japan’s team for the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore in July and August.
“I like to think I have the best shot at the distance. The 100m fly, of course, is an important race to me and I want to do well in it, too.
“But I want results in the 50m. I feel like it’s the one I can be most competitive in, and I want to win while I have the chance. There’s a part of me that feels like I should have and could have won a medal – but then I got sick.
“I don’t want to experience regret like that ever again.”
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Ikee Rikako ‘all in for 2028’
Paris 2024 was marked by tears of frustration for Ikee, appearing in her third Games.
She went out in the semi-final heats in her signature race, the 100m fly. Ikee swam in two medley relays but Japan finished last in the mixed and fifth in the women’s.
After beating leukemia and the staggering odds to miraculously make the Tokyo 2020 team, hopes were higher for Ikee ahead of Paris, with a proper Olympic run-up under her belt. Unfortunately for the 24-year-old, she was humbled.
On to the next, however, with a new coach at her Gold Coast base – the heralded Mel Marshall, renowned for her work with Britain’s three-time Olympic breaststroke champion Adam Peaty.
Marshall left her role as Team GB’s lead coach to replace another coaching guru, Michael Bohl, who departed Australia for the People’s Republic of China after developing a string of Olympic champions over the years, from Stephanie Rice to Emma McKeon to Kaylee McKeown.
Initially, Ikee was startled by all the commotion surrounding Bohl’s departure but then had a heart-to-heart with both Bohl and Marshall late last year, coming away convinced it was in her best interest to stay put in Australia.
It’s still early days in her relationship with Marshall but Ikee safely qualified for the World championships in the 50m and 100m fly, where she will truly be put to test.
Ikee also won the 50m at last month’s Australian Open Championships in 25.71, inching her way towards her Japan record of 25.11.
“I’d been told by Bohl that Mel would be taking his place,” Ikee said of Marshall’s arrival at Griffith University, where she trains.
“She came to Australia in October or November and we had a meeting then. I spoke to her face-to-face about my situation, how I feel about things and where I wanted to go.
“When I last had a meeting with Bohl in December, he said he passed on everything to Mel, the type of swimmer I am, what times I should be aiming for, etc.
“When a coach who knows you, who’s analysed you, advises the new coach, it’s really encouraging – better than me explaining things to Mel.
“It just made me a lot more comfortable working with Mel going forward.”
And as she embarks on another Olympic journey, Ikee is embracing a new role for Worlds: team captain.
Ikee has repeatedly said LA will be the culmination of her career. She must step up not only for herself but also for her country.
“I’ve made up my mind to go all in for 2028. I want to have fun doing it and be able to look back on the next three years with a smile.”
