Shaine Casas, Carson Foster Earn Spot in U.S. Swimming Olympic Team

Shaine Casas and Carson Foster are Paris bound after a 1-2 in the 200-meter individual medley.

Carson Foster hugs Shaine Casas after the 200-meter individual medley final, Friday, June 21, 2024, during the seventh day of the U.S. Olympic Team Swimming Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. / Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY

Texas swimmers Shaine Casas and Carson Foster shared an emotional hug after officially becoming Olympic teammates.

”I visualized what that moment would look like, Casas said. “It was kind of emotional, it was a lot to take in.”

Foster announced he would forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility in 2023 to pursue a professional career. Nonetheless, he never stopped showing his support for his former team and teammates.

Casas swam for arch-rivals Texas A&M and the Aggie Swim Club for three years before moving to the University of Texas in 2022.

The two were only teammates for a short time, but will now take it to the biggest level.

”Now I don’t have to pretend to be an Olympian,” Casas said. “I am an Olympian.”

Foster and Casas finished the 200m IM in first and second place, with Foster winning the event in 1:56.65 and Casas following at 1:55.83. Fellow Longhorn Will Modglin also qualified for the finals but fell short in eighth place in 1:58.44.

Casas will be joining the other five Longhorns in Paris — Aaron Shackell, Luke Hobson, Erin Gemmell, Drew Kibler, and Foster, who had already qualified in the 400-meter individual medley. Regan Smith, part of the Longhorn Aquatics club team, defeated Shackell’s sister Alex for a win in the 200-meter butterfly final and a spot in her second Olympics. However, the Shackell siblings will both be featured in Paris 2024.

The Olympic trials end on June 23 inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, for both men’s and women’s events.