Photo/Illutration Rikako Ikee cheers for her Nihon University teammates at the Inter College Swimming Championship in Tokyo in September. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Swimming champion Rikako Ikee has been discharged from a hospital after treatment for leukemia and now has her sights set on Paris.

“I will start training in the water after the doctor says OK,” Ikee said on her Twitter account on Dec. 17. “I will try hard and aim for medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.”

According to her management agency, Ikee, 19, was discharged at the beginning of this month. The agency said it was a big obstacle to clear because she now does not need to return to the hospital after an observation period.

Ikee revealed in February that she has acute lymphatic leukemia, news that stunned not only fans of the teenage swimming phenom but also the sports world in Japan.

“I was able to be discharged from the hospital after 10 months of treatment,” she said on Twitter. “I have so much appreciation for my family and the people who have supported me.”

But Ikee, a six-time gold medalist at the Asian Games, acknowledged there were difficult periods during her hospitalization.

“Although I sometimes thought about things negatively, I underwent the treatment by telling myself that I needed to have a strong will,” she posted.

At the beginning of the treatment, the chemotherapy went well and she was able to return home temporarily at the end of May.

According to her acquaintances, Ikee had planned to be permanently discharged during the summer, but her condition worsened.

She was believed to have suffered a complication and received a hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Her condition then stabled.

At the beginning of September, she was temporarily released from the hospital and visited the venue of the Inter College Swimming Championship on successive days.

Ikee, a member of Nihon University’s swimming team, cheered on her teammates and was all smiles when she posed in photos with them.

However, it was clear that she had lost muscle in her arms and back during her hospitalization.

A cycling machine was brought to her hospital room, but she could not use it in her condition. Its purpose was to encourage the swimmer in her battle against the illness.

If Ikee wants to enter the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she would have to compete in the national championship scheduled for April. It would now be nearly impossible for her to train enough to reach the qualifying time.

According to her acquaintances, Ikee has given up hopes of representing Japan in the pool at the Games next year.

“Until I can practice in the water, I plan to do athletics training and regain my basic physical fitness,” she said in her Twitter message.

Norimasa Hirai, head coach of the Japanese national swimming team, said he hopes Ikee can restart her schooling and private life.

“I do not want her to rush into things,” he said.

Takahiro Fukuda, chief of the department of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation at the National Cancer Center Hospital, explained that long-term monitoring of transplant recipients is vital in preventing infections and other complications caused by a reaction in the immune system.

He said progress differs depending on the type of transplantation, but all patients should remain on alert for possible problems, especially in the first few years.

“Whether patients can restore their body strength and improve the quality of their lives after the transplantation really depends on the complications,” Fukuda said.

“If all goes well, patients can return to work within six months at the earliest after the transplant,” he said. “So I think that Ikee can aim for the 2024 Paris Olympics.”

(This article was written by Toshiyuki Shimizu and Ayako Tsukidate.)