Japanese star swimmer Rikako Ikee on Tuesday secured her spot in July's world championships in the women's 100-meter butterfly, making the national team in an individual event for the first time since recovering from leukemia.

The 22-year-old clocked 57.68 seconds to win the event on the first day of the national championships at Tokyo Aquatics Centre, meeting the qualification time set by the Japan Swimming Federation for the worlds to be hosted in Fukuoka.

She will be making her third appearance at the worlds and her first since 2017.

Rikako Ikee pumps her fist after winning the women's 100-meter butterfly at the swimming national championships at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on April 4, 2023. Ikee secured her spot at the world championships in July in Fukuoka.(Kyodo)

Ikee made her Olympic debut in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, where she finished fifth in the 100 butterfly aged 16.

The MVP of the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta with six gold medals revealed in February 2019 that she had leukemia.

She returned to competitive swimming in August 2020 and swam in three relay events at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, following the games' one-year postponement.

Leukemia survivor Rikako Ikee (C) stands on top of the podium after winning the women's 100-meter butterfly at the national swimming championships, qualifying for this summer's worlds, at the Tokyo Aquatics Center on April 4, 2023. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo