Olympic swimming: Ledecky is fastest in heats of 1500; Marchand advances in 2 more races

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.

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)

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Lawyers representing 100 survivors and family members of victims of the deadliest shooting in Maine history have begun the formal process of suing the Army and an Army hospital for failing to act to stop the reservist responsible for the tragedy, attorneys announced Tuesday.

The individual notices of claim say the Army was aware of the reservist's mental health decline that left him paranoid, delusional and expressing homicidal ideations, producing a “hit list” of those he wanted to attack.

“It is difficult to conceive of a case in which Army personnel could have more warning signs and opportunities to intervene to prevent a service member from committing a mass shooting than what happened in the case of Army Reservist Robert Card,” lawyers wrote in their notices mailed Friday.

The notices of claim by four law firms are a required step in suing the federal government. The Army will have six months to determine whether to respond, after which a lawsuit may be filed.

Eighteen people were killed when the 40-year-old Card opened fire at two locations he'd frequented — a bowling alley and a cornhole league hosted by a bar and grill — on Oct. 25, 2023. Another 13 people were injured. Card was found dead two days later from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

An independent commission appointed by Maine's governor concluded that there were ample opportunities to intervene by both civilian law enforcement and the Army. For now, lawyers for victims and family and friends who suffered loss are focusing on the Army, and not a private hospital that treated Card or civilian law enforcement.

The Department of Defense, U.S. Army and Army Keller Hospital “broke its promises, failed to act reasonably, violated its own polices and procedures and disregarded directives and orders,” the claim said.

In September 2023, when Card threatened to “shoot up” an armory and his friend warned of "a mass shooting,” the Army failed to provide critical background about two doctors recommending that Card not have access to weapons when it requested that local law enforcement officers check on his well being. Card's commanding officer even downplayed the threat by undercutting the credibility of the soldier who issued the warning, and by declining to share all information at his disposal, the claims said.

Cynthia Young, whose husband William and 14-year-old son Aaron were killed at the bowling alley, said in a statement that pain and trauma never goes away. “As terrible as the shooting was it’s even more tragic that there were many opportunities to prevent this and they were not taken,” she added.

The filings said there may have been a time when mass shootings were so rare that they couldn’t be predicted but “that has not been true in America for decades.”

“Mass shootings, like what happened in Lewiston, are an epidemic in America. Consequently, those in positions of responsibility and authority are required to appreciate the warning signs and behaviors that telegraph the risk of mass violence, take them seriously, and act to prevent their occurrence," the claims said.

FILE - A man photographs a make-shift memorial at the base of the Lewiston sign at Veteran's Memorial Park, Oct. 29, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

FILE - A woman visits a makeshift memorial outside Sparetime Bowling Alley, the site of a mass shooting, Oct. 28, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

FILE - Rain-soaked memorials for those who died in a mass shooting sit along the roadside by Schemengees Bar & Grille, Oct. 30, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

FILE - Law enforcement personnel are staged in a school parking lot during a manhunt for Robert Card in the aftermath of a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, Oct. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

FILE — In this image taken from New York State Police body camera video that was obtained by WMTW-TV 8 in Portland, Maine, New York State Police interview Army reservist Robert Card, the man responsible for Maine's deadliest mass shooting, at Camp Smith, in Cortlandt, N.Y., July 16, 2023. (WMTW-TV 8/New York State Police via AP, File)

FILE - Law enforcement gather outside Schemengee's Bar and Grille, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)