Shane Casas looked at the scoreboard, took off his hat and slapped the water hard, as if he had just won the men's 200-meter individual medley at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Friday.
Finishing second was well worth it for the 24-year-old, who was born in California, went to high school in McAllen and competed at Texas A&M University before transferring to the University of Texas where he swims for Longhorn Aquatics.
Yes, three years after missing out on a spot on the Olympic team by finishing third and sixth in the two main events at the trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Casas finally achieved his lifelong dream of making the U.S. national team.
“I'll never forget that race,” Casas said. “It wasn't my best race, it wasn't my fastest race, but that race represents everything in my life and I can't even put into words what it means to me.”
Casas finished in 1 minute, 55.83 seconds, just edging out Carson Foster to qualify second in the event.
It wasn't easy.
Casas acknowledged that the memory of missing the Tokyo Olympics helped propel him through those agonizing final 50 meters on the way to Paris, culminating in an unforgettable post-race celebration with Foster, who won both IM races in Indianapolis this week.
For Casas, the qualifying swim was the most monumental of a career that saw him go from California to Texas and eventually Texas A&M University, going from top prospect to short-course star and then making an unbeatable comeback to become an Olympic hopeful.
“That's exactly what happened, and I was relieved,” Casas said. “I was replaying the race in my head, dreaming about it, picturing what that moment would be like. It was a lot to take in, and I got a little emotional. It felt like it represented everything in my life, and all the important people that helped me get to this point.”
NBCDFW staff contributed to this report
