All six golds were achieved in Asian Games record times and her achievement was made all the more remarkable as she arrived in Jakarta immediately after the Pan Pacific championships, where she won a gold medal, two silvers and a bronze.
Ikee, whose gold medal haul is the most for a female athlete at a single Asian Games, was unanimous choice for the MVP award, the Olympic Council of Asia said on the final day of the multisport event.
“I had heard that for a while there was no MVP award and I felt very sad about that, but there was a reevaluation and I am very honored to be able to receive such a wonderful award,†Ikee said after picking up her trophy and a check for 5.5 million yen.
Ikee is the fourth Japanese athlete to win the award since its inception at the 1998 Asia Games in Bangkok.
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