U.S. swimming trials: Races to watch with world champs spots at stake

Five standout races at next week’s U.S. swimming international team trials in Greensboro, N.C., where the top two in most individual events make the world championships in Budapest this summer …

Women’s 200m Freestyle (Wednesday)Katie Ledecky carries an eight-year undefeated streak in domestic freestyle races of 200 meters or longer. It doesn’t figure to be snapped in Greensboro, but usually the 200m free is the closest of her four primary events (200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m frees).

Allison Schmitt, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist and American record holder, was the last woman to beat Ledecky in the U.S. back in 2014. She was also second at the Olympic Trials last year, 1.68 seconds behind, but hasn’t raced since Tokyo and isn’t entered in world championships trials.

Paige Madden, 23, is the new top challenger. At Olympic Trials, she was one hundredth behind Schmitt in the 200m free and runner-up to Ledecky in the 400m free, 3.59 seconds back. This year, Madden is second-fastest in the country, 2.46 seconds behind Ledecky.

Other notables: Erin Gemmell, 17 and the daughter of Ledecky’s former D.C. area coach, and Leah Smith, the 2016 Olympic 400m free bronze medalist.

Women’s 100m Butterfly (Thursday) Last year, an 18-year-old Torri Huske broke the American record. A 16-year-old Claire Curzan became the third-fastest American in history in this event. They went one-two at Olympic Trials, but repeating that in Greensboro may prove more difficult.

Kate Douglass, the Olympic 200m individual medley bronze medalist, beat Huske and Olympic gold medalist Maggie Mac Neil at the NCAA Championships last month, breaking the American record in short-course yards.

Then there’s Kelsi Dahlia, the fastest American butterflier in 2015,