Japan’s golden girl Rikako Ikee yesterday stormed to a record sixth Asian Games swimming title, marking a handful of other firsts for good measure.
Ikee stole the show by edging the 50m freestyle sprint by a fingertip from China’s Liu Xiang, clocking 24.53 seconds to become the first woman in any sport to scoop six gold medals at a single Asian Games.
The 18-year-old allowed herself a rare display of emotion, raising a fist as she soaked up the applause of her besotted Japanese fans before shedding a few tears as the enormity of her achievement sank in.
“I really hate losing, I probably won that more through sheer willpower,” said Ikee, who had already secured gold in the 50m fly, 100m fly, 100m free, 4x100m free and the 4x100m medley.
“The last few minutes hurt, but I was just focusing on the touch and luckily I hung on. I used pretty much every last drop of energy,” she said.
Ikee, who is poised to be the face of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in her home city, finished with eight medals in total — a joint record.
North Korea shooter So Gin-man pocketed seven gold medals and eight overall in 1982.
“I’ve felt physically broken at times here,” Ikee said. “But I told myself it’s a state of mind and I was happy to finish strong.”
“I’m very proud of that,” she added. “The key will be how to convert this performance into more gold medals at the world championships and the Tokyo Olympics.”
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