2026 PRO SWIM SERIES – AUSTIN
After no-showing the 200 IM (#2 seed) and 100 butterfly (#3 seed) through the first two days of the meet, Shaine Casas took to the pool this morning at the Pro Swim Series in Austin, competing in the prelims of the 200 freestyle and 50 backstroke.
Coming in as the #9 seed in the 200 free and the top-seeded entrant in the 50 back, Casas touched sixth in his heat of the 200 free with a time of 1:53.34. That placed him 18th on the morning, nearly seven seconds shy of his lifetime best of 1:46.49 from May.
He bounced back less than an hour later to claim the top seed in the 50 back, clocking 25.37 and advancing to tonight’s semifinals. The 50 back is one of the targeted double-money races at this meet, with the winner earning $3,000.
Casas’ best time in the 50 back remains the 24.00 he produced at the 2022 U.S. International Team Trials; his best since switching to train with Bob Bowman is the 24.23 he swam at the Westmont stop of this series last March.
While Casas has provided no public explanation for his absences, his 200 free and 50 back times this morning could indicate he’s in a tough block of training or is overcoming an illness.
Casas showed out on the World Cup circuit this fall, winning eight of nine IM events across the three stops. His only loss came in the 400 IM in Carmel, where he swam in the morning heats.
He most recently competed at the U.S. Open, where he won the 100 fly (50.24) and 50 back (24.53), and finished ninth in the 200 free (1:46.62) and 10th in the 100 free (48.54). His 100 fly time marked his first personal best in the event in three and a half years.
Casas has one remaining entry for the meet: the 100 free (#6 seed).