Tokyo, Japan, April 1, 2024: Asian Games 2018 MVP Rikako Ikee along with the evergreen Daiya Seto spearhead a party of 27 named to Japan’s swimming squad for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Ikee and Seto, who each secured a quota for their third Olympic Games through the recent trials at Tokyo Aquatics Centre, will represent a team comprised of 14 men and 13 women looking to restore Japan’s pride in the pool this summer.
“We have a very balanced group of veterans and the young and those somewhere in the middle,” said Japan Swimming Federation President Daichi Suzuki, the Seoul 1988 gold medallist in the 100m backstroke.
“I want to see them level up in the next four months and expect that they will show their will to fight in Paris.
“I am proud of the athletes we have here. I hope they will raise our flag in Paris.”
Ikee won six gold and two silver medals at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia in 2018 to be named MVP but was diagnosed with leukemia just four months later. She recovered to compete at her home Tokyo Olympics, delayed to 2021, and also represented Japan at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou last September and October.
The Japan team was announced on March 27.