Where are they now: Rossano Galtarossa

Rossano Galtarossa is unquestionably one of Italy’s greatest-ever rowers, with a trophy collection including four Olympic medals and eight world championship medals, predominantly in the men’s quadruple sculls.

Over a career spanning 20 years Galtarossa appeared at six Olympic Games – from Barcelona 1992 to being the spare for the Italian team at London 2012 – before finally retiring at the age of 40.

But although he stepped away from international rowing, Galtarossa remains very connected to the sport. On a break from commentating duties at the 2024 World Rowing Cup I in Varese, World Rowing found out how he is now filling his days.

“I’m very proud of my sporting career,” Galtarossa says.

“I started rowing when I played basketball, because I was very tall. It wasn’t love at first sight, I didn’t like rowing immediately. I started in January, it was very cold that winter. That winter the weather was freezing and in Padua, my town, we got to 18 degrees below zero – and I played basketball in a new gym. Rowing outdoors, without changing rooms, was a tough difference,” he recalls.

“Step by step I found out I liked rowing a lot. I didn’t start with a big result, but my first coach was very good at his job. He taught me to appreciate work. Step by step I began to become, I think, a good rower.”

On his Olympic debut in Barcelona Galtarossa won bronze in the men’s quadruple sculls; he was then fourth at Athens 1996, and finally stood on the top of the Olympic podium four years later.

“My best memory is of the gold medal in Sydney 2000. It was an amazing result for me, it was my sporting dream,” he says. Although he had thought of stepping back after Sydney, Galtarossa had the bug and kept going.

He was not selected for a boat for London 2012, although he raced in the men’s quadruple sculls at two World Rowing Cups that year, but travelled to the Olympic Games as a spare. That experience was not good, Galtarossa admits, but he still looks back with some satisfaction on those closing races of his career.

“I spent a lot of mental energy and physical energy to do a good performance when I was 40. But I’m very proud, I felt very fast and competitive against my teammates and a lot of them were 20 years old when I was 40 years old,” he says.

So what came next? Galtarossa has stayed in his home town of Padua, and after considering coaching, he chose to become the manager of his club, Società Canottieri Padova.

“It’s a big sport club with rowing, canoeing, kayaking, tennis – we have 13 tennis courts, three padel courts – and we have 1,300 members. It’s open every day, we close only Christmas Day and the first day of the New Year,” Galtarossa says.

The job is a busy one, with occasional emergency calls in the middle of the night. However, that is not all that Galtarossa does. He has obtained a coaching licence and enjoys the odd spot of coaching for any and all age groups.

On top of that, Galtarossa is also a mental coach and teaches sports management at the University of Padua.

“My weeks are very busy,” Galtarossa says, with a bit of understatement.

He also still rows a little, although for time reasons he primarily keeps fit by running these days.

“In the past I liked training by bike. But by bike I need three hours a day and that’s too much. I prefer to go running, or in my single scull in good weather,” explains Galtarossa.

“But when I finish my hands cry,” he adds, displaying largely callous-free palms, with a laugh.

Galtarossa says rowing taught him much, particularly about the importance of a strong mentality, which he now uses in his work.

“All people sometimes have problems and then it’s very important to have the right mood to work one-to-one,” he says.

He also enjoys his family time; Galtarossa’s daughter has taken up artistic gymnastics.

“I appreciate it because she learned a lot from me about the sport mentality and I’m very proud of this. I like that she does sport. It’s not a problem what kind of sport,” he says.

And of course, Galtarossa can still be heard commentating, continuing to share his vast rowing experience to the wider community, and remaining very much a part of Italian rowing today.