Japan Swimming Championships won the triple crown, Chijiang Rikako qualified for the Hangzhou Asian Games
Xinhua News Agency, Tokyo, May 1. The three-day Japan Swimming Championships ended in Yokohama on the 1st. The famous Rikako Chijiang, who had been suffering from leukemia but has recovered, won three championships and qualified for the Hangzhou Asian Games.
The 21-year-old Rikako Chijiang won the championship with a time of 24.78 seconds in the women’s 50-meter freestyle competition that day, and broke the record of Japanese college students, 0.68 seconds faster than the second place. Later in the women’s 100m butterfly, she placed fourth.
In the first two days of competition, Chijiang Rikako won the women’s 50-meter butterfly and 100-meter freestyle championships with 25.49 seconds and 53.83 seconds respectively, both setting records for Japanese college students. Ikee Rikako is currently a senior at Nihon University in Tokyo.
The Hangzhou Asian Games will be Chijiang Lihuazi’s second Asian Games. At the Jakarta Asian Games four years ago, she won 6 golds and 2 silvers, becoming the first person in history to win 6 golds in one Asian Games. The swimmer was named the “Most Valuable Athlete” by the Olympic Council of Asia in that Asian Games.
On February 12, 2019, Chijiang Lihuazi revealed on social media that she had leukemia. After treatment, Chijiang Rikako recovered and returned to participate in the Tokyo Olympics.