NANTERRE, France (AP) — Katie Ledecky got started on what she hopes will be her first gold medal of the Paris Olympics, topping the field in the preliminaries of the women's 1,500-meter freestyle on Tuesday.
Finishing more than a half-lap ahead of the closest challenger in her heat, Ledecky posted a time of 15 minutes, 47.43 seconds.
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NANTERRE, France (AP) — Katie Ledecky got started on what she hopes will be her first gold medal of the Paris Olympics, topping the field in the preliminaries of the women's 1,500-meter freestyle on Tuesday.
Swimmers start in the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Leon Marchand, of France, competes during a heat in the men's 200-meter breaststrokeat the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Katie Ledecky, of the United States, leaves the pool following her heat in the women's 1500-meter freestyle at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Katie Ledecky, of the United States, reacts following her heat in the women's 1500-meter freestyle at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Leon Marchand, of France, competes during a heat in the men's 200-meter breaststroke at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Katie Ledecky, of the United States, competes during a heat in the women's 1500-meter freestyle at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
She'll have the prime lane in the middle of the pool for the final Wednesday. Her prime challenger appears to be Italy's Simona Quadarella, who was second-fastest in the heats at 15:51.19.
The only other swimmers to break 16 minutes were Anastasiia Kirpichnikova of France (15:52.46) and Isabel Gose of Germany (15:53.27).
Ledecky, who earned a bronze in the 400 freestyle, is looking to lock down the 12th Olympic medal of her career. That would tie her with fellow Americans Dara Torres, Jenny Thompson and Natalie Coughlin for the most ever by a female swimmer.
Ledecky already holds the mark for the most individual golds by a woman with six.
“I’ve been in touch with those three in the past and I know I have a lot of support back home,” Ledecky said. “Just looking forward to continuing on this week.”
The other American, Katie Grimes, finished a disappointing 10th (16:12.11) and failed to advance.
Grimes won a silver medal in the 400 individual medley and still has the marathon race scheduled for next week as she attempts to make the podium in both pool swimming and open water.
Coming off his dominating victory in the men's 400 individual medley, Léon Marchand of France took on a daunting double.
He was sixth-fastest in the preliminaries of the men's 200 butterfly at 1:55.26 and returned about two hours later to post the third-best time in the 200 breaststroke at 2:09.55, setting another grueling double in the evening semifinals.
Marchand was spurred on again by a raucous crowd of some 15,000 at La Defense Arena.
“I’m very grateful for the French people just to show up and cheer like that. I think it’s amazing,” he said. "I don’t think anyone has seen that before, so it’s been great for me. I’m using all the energy from the stadium and trying to swim as fast as possible in every race. Tonight will be very exciting for me.”
The finals of both races are Wednesday night, also just two hours apart.
Kristóf Milák of Hungary, the defending gold medalist in the 200 fly, led the way in the heats for that event in 1:53.92. South Korea's Cho Sung-jae set the pace in the 200 breast at 2:09.45.
American Jack Alexy topped men’s 100 freestyle at 47.57, followed by France’s Maxime Grousset (47.70) and Romania’s David Popovici (47.92), who was coming off a gold medal the previous night in the 200 free.
Defending Olympic champion Britain set the pace in the heats of the 4x200 freestyle relay at 7:05.11, with the U.S. claiming the second spot for the evening final in 7:05.57.
AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
Blake Pieroni, of the United States, competes in the men's 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Swimmers start in the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Leon Marchand, of France, competes during a heat in the men's 200-meter breaststrokeat the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Katie Ledecky, of the United States, leaves the pool following her heat in the women's 1500-meter freestyle at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Katie Ledecky, of the United States, reacts following her heat in the women's 1500-meter freestyle at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Leon Marchand, of France, competes during a heat in the men's 200-meter breaststroke at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Katie Ledecky, of the United States, competes during a heat in the women's 1500-meter freestyle at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine televangelist, who calls himself the “anointed son of God” and once claimed to have stopped an earthquake, pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of abuse of minors and human trafficking in a court arraignment that's the latest mark of his reversal of fortune.
Apollo Carreon Quiboloy and four of his co-accused were brought under heavy security to the regional trial court in Pasig city in metropolitan Manila for the human trafficking charges and was later arraigned by video from police detention by another court handling a separate non-bailable case of child abuse.
Lawyer Israelito Torreon told reporters his client Quiboloy entered not guilty pleas before the two courts because he's innocent of the charges. Quiboloy, 74, also asked the court to allow him to be detained in a hospital due to unspecified illnesses but no immediate decision was made.
Quiboloy, the preacher and founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ group, faces similar charges in the United States, where he has been included in the FBI’s most-wanted list.
The United States was expected to request the extradition of Quiboloy and his co-accused at some point, but President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said they have to first face justice in the Philippines. Quiboloy surrendered in his vast religious complex in the south Sunday in an operation involving more than 2,000 police officers.
In his heyday, Quiboloy was one of the most influential religious leaders in the Philippines with many followers and was regarded a political kingmaker, who backed the equally controversial former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Quiboloy and his co-defendants have been accused of recruiting young followers, who were lured to submit themselves to the “divine will” and promised scholarships and foreign travels but later forced to solicit money in spurious ways including house-to-house Christmas caroling and peddling pastries and biscuits.
The victims were threatened and beaten when they failed to reach collection quotas and defy orders, according to the charge sheet.
More alarmingly, Quiboloy and his key aides were accused of deceiving Filipino and foreign girls as young as 12 to serve as privileged “pastorals,” who were ordered to give Quiboloy a massage in his bedroom before they were raped by him. Some of the alleged victims testified in a Philippine Senate hearing earlier this year on Quiboloy’s alleged crimes, including a woman from Ukraine who testified by video because of the war in her country.
Quiboloy and his co-accused and their lawyers have denied any wrongdoing. They said they were ready to answer the charges in court. The raft of allegations, they said, was fabricated by critics and former members who were removed from his religious group.
After Quiboloy surrendered and taken into police custody in his 30-hectare (75-acre) religious complex in southern Davao city over the weekend, police said at least five other religious followers may file criminal complaints and testify against him.
Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said Quiboloy had in effect used religion as a cover for criminality. "This is one of the most extreme evils because faith is something sacred,” he told The Associated Press.
Quiboloy has made outrageous claims that sparked questions about his character but endeared him to his fanatical followers. In 2019, he claimed that he stopped a major earthquake from hitting the southern Philippines.
In the U.S., federal prosecutors announced charges against Quiboloy in 2021 for allegedly having sex with women and underage girls who faced threats of abuse and “eternal damnation” unless they catered to the self-proclaimed “son of God.” The allegations were made by former followers of Quiboloy.
The expanded indictment included charges of conspiracy, sex trafficking of children, sex trafficking by force, fraud, money laundering and visa fraud.
Quiboloy and eight other defendants were accused of recruiting women and girls, typically 12 to 25 years old, as “pastorals,” who cooked his meals, cleaned his houses, massaged him and traveled with him around the world. Minors as young as 15 were scheduled for “night duty,” when they were sexually abused by Quiboloy, according to the indictment.
Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, center, wearing a helmet and flak jacket, a Filipino preacher charged with human trafficking, leaves the Pasig Regional Trial Court in Pasig City, Philippines, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerard Carreon)
People, in green helmet, charged with human trafficking, leave the Pasig Regional Trial Court, walking after Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, a Filipino preacher, in Pasig City, Philippines, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerard Carreon)
People, in green helmet, charged with human trafficking, enter the Pasig Regional Trial Court, walking after Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, a Filipino preacher, in Pasig City, Philippines, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerard Carreon)
Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, wearing a helmet and flak jacket, a Filipino preacher charged with human trafficking, enters the Pasig Regional Trial Court in Pasig City, Philippines, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerard Carreon)
Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, wearing a helmet and flak jacket, a Filipino preacher charged with human trafficking, leaves the Pasig Regional Trial Court in Pasig City, Philippines, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerard Carreon)
Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, wearing a helmet and flak jacket, a Filipino preacher charged with human trafficking, enters the Pasig Regional Trial Court in Pasig City, Philippines, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerard Carreon)
Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, wearing a helmet and flak jacket, a Filipino preacher charged with human trafficking, arrives at the Pasig Regional Trial Court in Pasig City, Philippines, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerard Carreon)
Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, wearing a helmet and flak jacket, a Filipino preacher charged with human trafficking, enters the Pasig Regional Trial Court in Pasig City, Philippines, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerard Carreon)
