A temporary, yet powerful training collaboration is brewing down under at Griffith University led by storied Aussie coach Michael Bohl.
Gathering at the Queensland, Australia swimming mecca for training camps running through the end of the year are Japanese Olympians Rikako Ikee and Daiya Seto. Ikee has been working with Bohl for the past 2 weeks while Seto is due to arrive within the next couple of weeks.
Ikee and Seto have both traveled to Australia to train in the past, with 23-year-old Ikee making the trek both in 2018 and 2019 while Seto trained with Bohl in 2017. In fact, it was during Ikee’s 2019 training stint when she was diagnosed as having leukemia, a disease that has been in remission since the end of that year.
“We have had quite a few Japanese swimmers train with us ~ the relationship and cooperation between Japan and Australia is very good,” Bohl told SwimSwam this week.
Ikee and Seto both raced and medaled at this year’s Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. Ikee earned her first elite international championship medal since beating leukemia, earning bronze in the women’s 50m fly. Seto took bronze in the 200m IM and silver in the 400m IM at the competition.
But Bohly was in Athens last week with most of the senior squad?
Will be great for McKeon and Smith to have training partners.
Yessss if anyone can bring them back from the mess JASF has created, it’s Michael Bohl.