Sjöström on the rival's treatment: "Joyful"

Sarah Sjöström is in Las Vegas and is preparing for this week's final of the money-laden competition circus International Swimming League, ISL - the 26-year-old's closing race in a successful decade, after a year that touched extra in life outside the pool.

In February, Japanese rival and exercise buddy Rikako Ikee suffered from blood cancer, leukemia, at 18 years old. Earlier this week, Ikee told me she had completed about 10 months of treatment and had to leave the hospital she had been admitted to.

- Very tragic. I have had some contact with her. It is truly a gratifying message that she is on the road to improvement, says Sarah Sjöström.

When the Swedish world star found out about Ike's disease earlier this year, she contacted the Children's Cancer Foundation to learn more about leukemia.

- They reassured me and said that it is a cancer treatment that many young people can handle, says Sjöström.

Rikako Ikee, Japanese record holder at five different individual distances and named as the country's most popular female athlete, was one of the nation's big poster names for next year's Olympics, to be held in Ikee's hometown of Tokyo.

She was predicted to be one of Sjöström's main competitors for the gold of both 50 and 100 butterflies and 50 and 100 freely. However, because of her illness, Ikee has instead set its sights on the summer games in Paris in 2024, but has not yet received doctors' permission to start swimming again.

- She wants to get back to swimming, above all. The last time I talked to her (in October) I asked how she was doing, then she said that "now a typhoon has come to Japan, but I'm fine," says the Swedish.

Sarah Sjöström, who last year was at training camp together with Rikako Ikee and her ISL team Energy Standard in Turkey, in 2019, among other things, sent gifts to her cancer-rivals in Japan. Sjöström has previously participated in charity campaigns in support of cancer research.

- I sent two bracelets, one in gold where it said "Never give up" and one in silver with "Beat cancer", says Sjöström.

Do you think she can be back to the 2024 Olympics?

- The risk of infection increases as you go through such treatment. Then swimming pools may not be the best place to stay, but it is clean in Japan. In the Eriksdalsbadet, it would probably have been more difficult, says Sjöström and aims, somewhat jokingly, to the hygiene at Stockholm.

Sarah Sjöström, who has participated in three of the six competitions in ISL where women and men compete in teams, has spent the last few weeks in the Swedish capital, before leaving for Nevada, USA. Sjöström's Energy Standard team, which is set against LA Current, Cali Condors and London Roar, has the chance to win the premiere of the money-laden competition and Sjöström can become the MVP, the most valuable swimmer in the competition.

According to TT's calculations, Sjöström has so far earned 35,700 US dollars, corresponding to just over 330,000 Swedish kronor, on his races. In the final competitions, which are held on Friday and Saturday evening Swedish time, the prize sums are higher and Sjöström, if she performs similarly as before, can withdraw at least $ 60,000, which is equivalent to over SEK 560,000.

- I sure hope that Energy Standard takes it home, but this is the toughest competition so far. And I hope, of course, to bring home the MVP. It's a really good bonus if you take the total home, it's everyone else who chases me, says Sarah Sjöström.