Valley rallies behind Shaine Casas as he advances to semifinals in Paris, watch parties scheduled

MCALLEN, Texas ( ValleyCentral ) — The Rio Grande Valley is rallying behind Shaine Casas, a first-time Olympian from McAllen, as he advances to the semifinals this afternoon.

Casas competed in Paris this morning at 5 a.m. in the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 1:58:04. His time earned him a spot in the semifinals which will begin at 2:55 p.m. and can be seen on NBC 23.

Casas comes from humble beginnings, learning to swim and compete in the Valley. The now 24-year-old athlete, began his collegiate career at Texas A&M. He later switched to UT Austin to compete professionally before qualifying for the Olympic team in June.

ValleyCentral spoke with Casas’ mother ahead of the race to get to know the young athlete a little better.

Our Valley Sports Team got an invite to Casas’ own family watch party at 5 a.m. Thursday where they saw first hand the love and support from Shaine’s village.

His aunt Ann Spencer spoke with our Blake Holland about the race and how proud she is to see him achieve his goals.

“He has been doing his swimming since he was 3 years old and he had his eye on being an Olympian and he is an Olympian,” Spencer said.

Casas’ aunt said the Olympian is hard on himself and strives for greatness. As he heads to the semifinals and the competition gets stiffer, his aunt says Casas is ready for this and is confident that he can take on the challenge.

While the Valley was able to get Casas’ mom to Paris to watch her son compete, locals are throwing watch parties of their own to cheer on the local talent.

In McAllen, a watch party will be held for Casas at the McAllen High School auditorium.

Doors will open at 1:30 p.m. and the event will start at 2:55 p.m.

Community members are encouraged to bring signs and wear USA attire to show support for Casas and Team USA.

McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos sent his well wishes to the Olympic athlete in a support video published by the City.

In Brownsville, a watch party is being held at the Aquatic Center, located at 2901 FM 802.

The event starts at 2:30 p.m. Thursday and if Casas qualifies for the finals, another watch party will be held Friday at 1:45 p.m.

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