Dovydas Nemeravicius (LTU)

Rising Star – August 2018

Lithuanian 23-year-old Dovydas Nemeravicius is a talent in two boat classes.  He was a World Champion in the quad in 2017.  In 2018, he’s had more success in the quad with a silver at the European Rowing Championship – and he won gold in the double at the World Cup regatta in Belgrade. 

I knew nothing about rowing… before my parents brought me to rowing school for my first training and I liked it very much.

As long as I can remember…  I always wanted to compete with others in all physical activities and in school I tried to participate in as many competitions as possible.

In childhood I played… basketball and I think this sport is good for coordination and physical strength and speed.

On switching between the quad and the double:  At first sight everyone would say that in the quad you should move faster than in the double, but I cannot agree with them because when I changed from the quad to the double the main problem was that I couldn’t move fast enough in the boat.

My gold at the World Cup in Belgrade was… a big achievement because it’s a proof for me that I can compete with elite rowers in smaller boat class.

To prepare for race day I… try to sleep for eight or more hours at night, wake up cheerful, get a nourishing breakfast and be in a good mood, because everything was done many weeks ago so you have to calm down and enjoy the day.

The best advice a coach has given me is… “After five strokes feel that you are all together.” This helps me to keep cool and calm in the start.

We face some problems so I think… the main goal this year is to stand up on the feet with my team and I still believe that we can be fast and strong again.

My long term goal is to… win at Tokyo 2020. I’ll try to give 100 per cent to achieve this goal.

Our training camp is in… Trakai, Lithuania.  We have very dynamic weather here. Sometimes it’s very hot for weeks, then the rain and cold weather come, then it can be windy and wavy for few weeks. So, we are able to row in different conditions.

As well as rowing… I’m studying at the university.

To relax I… try to spend as much time as I can with my family and friends.

My favourite food is… ice cream J