In 2025, at the World Aquatics World Cup – Toronto, the same athlete dominated the 100 Individual Medley (IM) and 200 IM: Shaine Casas. While swimmers like Leon Marchand and Carson Foster, both Olympic gold medalists in the IM events, participated in the same event, Casas edged them out by .08 milliseconds. Currently, Casas is one of the very few Black powerhouses in swimming, especially in the 100 IM, 200 backstroke, 200 IM and 400 IM. Michael Phelps’ coach Bob Bowman is currently training Casas at the University of Texas (Longhorns).
Casas, a half-Cuban, half-Black American swimmer, was born in San Diego, Calif., in December 1999. He began swimming competitively when he was seven years old for multiple local clubs. During his time at McAllen High School, he continued to compete for both his club and the school’s team. In 2017, Casas claimed the 100-yard butterfly and 200 IM race in the 6A state championship. After high school, Casas committed to swim for Texas Agricultural & Mechanical University (Texas A&M), then transferred to University of Texas in 2022. Currently, he continues to swim for Texas.
In 2019, Casas made the national stage at the National Championships. He won the 100-meter backstroke and took silver in both the 200-meter backstroke and 200-meter IM. In the 200 meter-IM, Casas barely lost to Olympic medalist Carson Foster. These performances brought him spots to the international arena of the United States national team from 2019-21 in the 100-meter back.
Along with many athletes, COVID-19 posed an issue for Casas, and he was out of the water for around five months. For a swimmer, this time without intense practice can be detrimental and even ruin a career; however, Casas rallied. During his first race back, Casas swam the unofficial American record in the 100 IM, swimming a 46.33. A week later, at the Art Adamson Invitational, Casas swam a 43.87 in the 100-yard backstroke, becoming the third-fastest person to ever swim the event. Due to his commitment to the sport, he was awarded the “National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Male Swimmer of the Year” award for 2022.
That summer, Casas qualified and competed in the U.S.’ Olympic trials. He managed to score a spot in seven different races: the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter freestyle, 100-meter backstroke, 200-meter backstroke, 100-meter butterfly and 200-meter IM. Casas competed in the same number of events among other swimming “celebrities,” such as Caeleb Dressel and Katy Ledecky. Due to his sudden spike in popularity during this time, Casas began showing up in “Sports Illustrated” and “NBC Sports,” where they talked about his potential chances of winning his backstroke races. In the end, Casas did not return home with a medal or a chance to go to Tokyo for the Olympics but with a drive to continue pushing himself.
After Casas returned to regular training, he began preparing for another year at Texas A&M and NCAAs. He made it to NCAAs again and left an even more impressive indent on the swimming community. He won gold in three individual events: 200 IM, 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke. After his performance, Casas won “Southeastern Conference Male Swimmer of the Year.” However, at the end of his 2020-21 season, Casas decided to not only enter the transfer portal, but to also announce his plan to move into professional swimming. In the end, Casas ended up at the University of Texas, where the famous coach Bowman is currently employed.
In January 2022, Casas officially joined University of Texas for post-graduate swimming. In a little over a month with the Longhorns, Casas reached personal bests in the 100-meter-free and 100-meter-fly. Then, he further prepared with the team for the 2022 World Short Course Championships.
Casas declared four main events for the World Championships: 200-meter backstroke, 50-meter butterfly, 100-meter butterfly and 200-meter IM, however, a few days out from the meet, he swapped the 50-meter butterfly, with the 100-yard IM. Casas placed fourth in the 200 IM and won bronze in the 4×100-meter relay. Again, he achieved fourth in the 100 IM. Casas raced well but fell a little off of his personal record to gain sixth in the 200-meter backstroke. These races marked the end of his 2022 season.
In 2023, Casas spent the majority of his time training and seldom raced. In the few times he did compete, he achieved a personal-best in the 200 freestyle during the TYR Pro Series.
Nevertheless, when the 2024 Olympics rolled around, Casas was ready. During Olympic Trials, Casas earned a spot in the 200 IM, right behind Carson Foster. At the Olympics held in Paris, Casas got ninth, almost making it into the A-final but was 0.06 milliseconds behind.
In 2025-26, Casas, still swimming professionally and training with Bowman, competed in the TYR Pro Series, where he faced off against new bigshots, such as Hubert Kos and Leon Marchand.
Casas is a true inspiration to a new generation of swimmers. Casas is not afraid to be himself and often flaunts the many facets of his being, such as achieving the title of Eagle scout. He flaunts a young and hungry mindset that pins him as one of the all-time greatest swimmers in history. As a Black man, Casas often has the eyes of the world on him; however, when he swims, he is never bogged down. Casas is a symbol that anything can be accomplished with hard work.
“The experiences and the life lessons I’ve gained through my professional swimming career and post Paris Olympics, learning about myself and what benefits or doesn’t benefit me, that’s something I’m really trying to lean into,” Casas said during an interview at the 2024 Olympics.
