There are only more than four months left before the opening of the Paris Olympics, and trials around the world are in full swing. In terms of swimming, the Japanese Swimming Olympic Trials ended on the second day of competition. Japanese star Rikako Ikee, an old acquaintance of Chinese swimming fans, swam 57.30 seconds in the 100-meter butterfly final and won the runner-up, locking Paris in the first battle. Olympic qualification. This 23-year-old girl finally fought against leukemia for 5 years and finally staged the return of the king.
Chie Rikako was born in 2000. She became famous at a young age with extraordinary talents. She joined the Japanese national team at the age of 16. At the age of 17, she broke the Asian record and the world youth record in the 100-meter medley. At the age of 18, she won 6 in the Jakarta Asian Games. A gold medal, creating history in the Asian Games swimming event. However, at the age of 19, Chijiang Lihuazi suffered from leukemia. The star that has just risen in the Asian swimming world seems to be about to die early. In order to fight against the disease, Chijiang Rikako did not touch the swimming pool for a whole year. When she came back, her body was already worse than before, but Chijiang Rikako never gave up.
Before Chijiang Lihuazi had leukemia, his best time in the 100-meter butterfly was 56.08 seconds. At that time, he was only 0.01 seconds away from Liu Zige's Asian record. However, in the three years since re-entering the water in 2020, Chijiang Rikako has never broken through 57.60 seconds. However, at the Olympic trials, Chie Rikako finally broke out. In the semifinals, Chie Rikako swam 57.03 seconds and ranked first. This was her best result since her comeback. In the finals, although Chijiang Rikako's results were slightly worse than those in the semi-finals, they were still enough to qualify for the Olympics. After landing, Chijiang Lihuazi clenched his fists in excitement to celebrate.
If Rikako Chie can appear in Paris, it will be her first appearance in the individual event of the World Series after 7 years. The last time Rikako Chie participated in a world competition was the 2017 World Championships. Although Rikako Chie also participated in the Tokyo Olympics, she only participated in relay events. Chie Rikako's excellent form in the trials gave people a glimpse of the possibility of her hitting the 57-second mark again. And her time of 57.03 seconds in the semi-finals can definitely enter the World Championships or Olympic finals.
It is worth mentioning that in the 50-meter butterfly final of the Hangzhou Asian Games, Zhang Yufei won the gold and Chijiang Lihuazi won the bronze. Zhang Yufei and Chijiang Lihuazi hugged and cried. This was a sympathy between athletes and a warm scene in competitive sports. Now that Chijiang Rikako is back, her level will definitely not threaten Zhang Yufei, but after all, they have different starting points, and even the meaning of participating in the competition is completely different. Zhang Yufei is rushing to harvest the gold medal, and Chijiang Lihuazi's ability to stand on the field is a miracle in itself.
