Shaine Casas Surging Toward Crucial Rebound Trials in Greensboro

Shaine Casas Surging Toward Crucial Rebound Trials in Greensboro; Will Swim Backstrokes, 100 Butterfly, 200 IM

For two years, Shaine Casas could do no wrong in the pool. He broke onto the national scene during the summer of 2019 when he captured national titles in both backstroke events, and he continued his surge through his sophomore and junior seasons of college swimming at Texas A&M. The 2020 NCAA Championships were cancelled because of COVID-19, but Casas was the top-performing swimmer at the 2021 national meet as he won national titles in the 100 and 200-yard backstroke and the 200 IM while leading the Aggies to an impressive 10th-place finish.

The next step, it seemed, was qualifying for his first Olympic team, and Casas was a popular pick to qualify for Tokyo behind defending Olympic gold medalist Ryan Murphy in the backstroke events. But at the cruel and unforgiving meet that is Olympic Trials, Casas just missed. He placed third in the 100 backstroke, less than three tenths behind surprising runnerup Hunter Armstrong, and he fell to sixth in the 200 back.

“I think that meet definitely slapped me in the face,” Casas said of his Olympic Trials experience. When discussing what went wrong for him in Omaha, Casas admitted that he had become overconfident, and he refused to place the blame for what he considered poor performances on anyone besides himself.

“I really thought I was on top of the world,” Casas said. “At NCAAs, I didn’t really take it seriously and still performed well enough, and I was like, ‘You know what? I’m fine. I’ve got this. I’ve been swimming well.’ And I think that was my fault. Trials was my fault. As much as people might not agree and think the coach messed it up, it was my fault. I didn’t take it seriously enough. I wasn’t committed enough or disciplined enough. Even though I really wanted to be an Olympian, my swims reflected my discipline.”

That performance shook Casas, and it left him unsure of how to proceed in his swimming career. He realized that he needed to make a change, and he decided that he was no longer interested in college swimming. He decided he would depart Texas A&M, where he had thrived under coaches Jay Holmes and Jason Calanog, and move north to train at the University of Texas under legendary coach Eddie Reese and assistant coach Wyatt Collins.

Casas ended up staying in College Station through December, but when he finally did move to Austin, he admitted that it was tough to depart a place where “I was extremely comfortable, and I knew everything.” He viewed this transition as necessary for him to reach his full potential in swimming.

“People have to become uncomfortable, even if It’s just for a little bit, just for the betterment of themselves,” he said. “As much as I would have liked for it to work out there, it didn’t, and that’s tough but if you want to do something, and you really want it, you have to be willing to do whatever it takes to get to where you want to be, and I’m willing to do that.”

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In the months after Olympic Trials, Casas was unsure where he would compete next, but around October, he was offered a spot representing the U.S. in the backstroke events at the Short Course World Championships in Abu Dhabi. Casas had not ramped up his training yet following Trials, but once he got the invitation, he said, “It’s go time.”

It was a chance afforded because swimmers ahead of Casas in the qualifying order, including Murphy, had declined spots at the meet. Casas was making his first appearance at an elite-level international meet, but he immediately thrived. In his first event, the 100 back, Casas blasted out to an early lead and then held off Russia’s Kliment Kolesnikov, the Olympic silver medalist in the event, to win the world title.

Over the course of the competition, Casas added a silver medal in the 200 back, a race where he hoped to add a second individual gold but “I wasn’t ready for that” as Polish veteran Radoslaw Kawecki surpassed him at the end. Casas also added four relay medals.

“For me, it was a little bit of redemption,” Casas said of his performance. “I feel like after missing the (Olympic) team, I just went under the radar, and people probably forgot, like, ‘Oh, like what happened to Shaine?’ I’m still here. I won. I was not satisfied with how I swam at the meet. I still feel like I can do more.”

Casas was still training at Texas A&M leading up to Short Course Worlds, but after he returned to the U.S., he officially made the move to train with the Longhorns. On living in Austin, Casas said, “I am out here in the city. This is definitely not what I’m used to.” But otherwise, he has adopted well. He has enjoyed training under the Texas men’s coaches and in the small but focused pro training group that currently includes Will Licon, Maxime Rooney and Charlie Swanson.

“It took me a little bit to get the physical part,” Casas said. “It was tough. I was tired all the time, and I was finding myself napping all day. Sometimes I’d miss lunch, and have to just like eat really fast before practice. But I finally got used to it, and it’s great. My place is set up I have a nice living room. I live in a nice place. People are friendly. It’s just I think a really good adjustment for me, and I really don’t think it could be going any better than it is.”

Casas has seen strong early returns from his time training in Austin. At the first TYR Pro Swim Series meet of the year, Casas defeated a strong field in the 100 freestyle that included Olympians Ryan Held, Caeleb Dressel and Zach Apple. At the most recent stop in Westmont, Casas scored four victories. His times in the 100 butterfly (51.09) and 200 IM (1:56.70) rank first in the United States in 2022, and both would have been fast enough to qualify for the Olympic team last year. His times in both backstroke events rank second in the country to Murphy.

The 22-year-old will compete at the U.S. World Championship Trials later this month in Greensboro, N.C., but he will not compete in the 100 freestyle on the meet’s first day, despite the six potential relay berths available. His event lineup in Greensboro will include:

• Wednesday, April 27: 200 backstroke
• Thursday, April 28: 100 butterfly, 50 backstroke
• Friday, April 29: 100 backstroke
• Saturday, April 30: 200 IM

Originally, Casas considered skipping the 200 IM because of his busy schedule, but he later decided to give it a go, especially after he edged out a loaded field including 200-yard IM NCAA champion Leon Marchand and U.S. Olympians Chase Kalisz and Michael Andrew in San Antonio. “They have a lot more,” Casas said of Kalisz and Andrew, “but so do I, so I guess we’ll see in a couple weeks.”

This time, Casas believes he is ready for the moment. He knows what to expect from the pressures of a qualification meet, and he believes he has shut out the overconfidence that derailed his training prior to last year’s Trials. After that disappointment 10 months ago, Casas has returned to his perch as one of the most exciting young swimmers in the U.S., and if all goes according to plan, he could achieve some special performances in Greensboro.

“Going into these Trials, now the pressure is on because now this is my lifeline or my job, but I’m confident, and I know that I’m ready this time compared to last time,” Casas said. “I think last time I was too immature and not experienced enough to know what I’m doing and handle the pressure.”