Rikako Ikee Entered In Fly Events For February’s Tokyo Open

2021 TOKYO OPEN

• Saturday, February 20th & Sunday, February 21st
• Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Centre
• LCM (50m)
• Entries

Although the next big meet in Japan is the Japan Open, a 4-day event set to begin on February 4th, there is another notable competition taking place just a few weeks later.

The 2021 Tokyo Open is slated for Saturday, February 20th, and Sunday, February 21st, with several big names having entered to pack the star power. Among them is 26-year-old Olympic medalist Daiya Seto, with the man ready to take on the 200m fly, 200m IM, and 400m IM for the Tokyo Open.

Seto is scheduled to race at the aforementioned Japan Open prior to this meet, entering the same trio of events at his first competition in over 5 months You can read more about Seto’s comeback here.

Another monster match-up in the men’s breaststroke is set to take place at this Tokyo Open, with former world record holder Ippei Watanabe being pitted against the newly-donned 2:06-club swimmer Shoma Sato in the 200m. The pair’s lifetime bests are separated by just .11, with Watanabe owning the Japanese national record in 2:06.67 from 2017 while 19-year-old Sato fired off a 2:06.78 just days ago.

Finally, 20-year-old leukemia survivor Rikako Ikee is entered in new events for this Tokyo Open. The 2018 Asian Games MVP and multi-national record holder stuck to the 50m free when she returned to racing late last year, but added the 100m free just last weekend at the Kosuke Kitajima Cup, qualifying for Japan’s Olympic Trials in the process.

This time around at the Tokyo Open, Ikee is entered in the 50m and 100m butterfly, marking her first time competing in this discipline since making her way back into competition after having been released from the hospital.

Ikee owns the Japanese national records in the 50 and 100m fly with her times of 25.11 and 56.08, respectively.