Texas Transfer Becomes First Member of U.S. Olympic Swimming Team

Aaron Shackell will arrive in the Forty Acres with a big title on his back -- a Paris 2024 Olympian.

Aaron Shackell is cheered for by the crowd after receiving her medal for the 400 freestyle final Saturday, June 15, 2024, during the first day of competition for the U.S. Olympic Team Swimming Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. / Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY

Former California swimmer Aaron Shackell will arrive in the 40 Acres as an Olympian.

Shackell swam for the Bears in the fall and competed up until Cal's mid-season invite in Minnesota when he decided to return to his home club team Carmel and take an Olympic redshirt. He was the sixth-ranked recruit of the Class of 2023.

"As we are seven months away from Olympic trials and to lessen some of the collegiate challenges as a freshman," Cal head coach Dave Durden said in December. "We decided being at home and at Carmel would be the most familiar environment for him and his family. We continue to support him and look forward to having him back on campus in the fall.”

On an Instagram post in early May, Shackell announced that his return to collegiate swimming would be at Texas rather than California.

The 19-year-old swam side-by-side with decorated athletes, but that didn't stop him. Shackell defeated the 2021 Olympic bronze medal Kieran Smith for first place and led the majority of the race.

“[During the] last 50, everything in my body just turned off and I couldn’t really hear anything,” Shackell said. “With the training that I do…if I have the lead with 50 meters left, I’m not going to lose.”

With the time of 3:45.46, Shackell became the first swimmer to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Swimming team.

“A lot people get nervous when they look at 20,000 people or a big stadium — for me, it makes me swim faster,” Shackell said. “I’ve always dreamed of performing in front of a basketball or a football stadium, at least when I was a kid. And in swimming, you don’t always have the opportunity. So getting an opportunity to put on a show in front of 20,000 fans, it’s everything to me.”

Before getting to Austin, Shackell will likely be one of the youngest members of the U.S. Olympic swim team and will leave his mark as one more Longhorn to step into Olympic pools.