March 2025: Afonso Duarte Costa

ROWER OF THE MONTH – At the 2025 World Indoor Rowing Championships, Portugal’s Afonso Duarte Costa became world champion in the lightweight men’s 2000m event in a fast time of 6:08.6. It’s the latest achievement in a varied career for this month’s Rower of the Month.

How did you get into rowing?

I started playing sports really early in my life. I played many sports – swimming, martial arts, rowing, I played drums also. Then I started to see that I was going really well in rowing and it was a time in my life when I should choose one thing that was really good.

Having fun was the most important thing, but I’ve been winning races since I was little.

What did it feel like when you first represented Portugal on the world stage?

I started when I was a junior at the Coupe de la Jeunesse. It was really good, because when I choose to just row and started to train well, I thought yeah, I want to be on the Portuguese team and represent Portugal. It was the beginning of a realisation of a goal, a dream.

I remember going there and thinking we are here and the expectations are high. Our expectation was to win the double scull with my partner. It was like a cold bucket of water – we had to be much faster. We didn’t get in the final; we won the B-final. The next day we changed the strategy and we came fourth, it was quite an improvement from one day to the other.

What is your relationship like with the ergo?

I quite enjoy it because I’m quite good for lightweights. I enjoy the ergo more maybe than the northernmost European countries because here we can row every day on the water, every month of the year you can row. It’s not that reality that you have to row four or five months on the ergo.

The ergo is a tool and we use that tool when we need to, not because we have to because of the geography. Last year our coach, John West, we started to do really regularly 30 minutes full power. Those ones I hated so much. I remember finishing that on Wednesday morning and thinking ‘at least I have seven more days without this’.

How does it feel to be world indoor champion? Were you happy with your race?

It was nice, I enjoyed it. I was the fastest qualifier. I knew I could win it and the goal was to try to beat my PB. This new format of heats and then you have two and a half hours before your final, so it was hard, and I was not well health-wise. So 6:08, I was quite happy with that.

Also making weight again; all my life I was lightweight, and then with no lightweights any more I can eat what I want to. After Christmas I was maybe 80kgs and my numbers on the ergo were really good, better than last year. As I started to lose weight I realised how much difference each kilo makes on your power. I started to see my numbers going a bit down.

What was your experience of the Tokyo Olympics like?

It was weird, I know, but it was my first Olympics and at least they happened. At least there was an Olympics. I was quite happy with that. I was living the dream, I qualified for the Olympics, that was quite a big thing in Portugal.

It was a good experience with my partner and now he’s my coach (Pedro Fraga). I loved every second there; the result at the end was not so good as expected, we missed the semi-final in a three-boat photofinish, but even so we were there, we were rowing in the Olympics.

You were close to qualifying for Paris with your brother Dinis; what was that journey like?

Knowing that we could do another cycle as lightweights with my brother it was like ‘let’s do this’. We enjoyed it a lot, me and my brother, it meant a lot for us.

But then at the end rowing with my brother, as the pressure went up up up up and we had to be faster, faster, faster, I think we demanded too much from each other. We were brothers so there was no filter. One of the reasons we didn’t qualify was the fact we were brothers and we had no filters. Of course it’s not the only reason – there were injuries, family problems, many things that if you combine you have the answer.

It was one of the hardest moments for me in my life and I think in his life. In the end we are happy, we are best friends and we have a clear conscience, we have no regrets, the ride was good. We didn’t reach our goal, but it was a nice ride.

Do you see a future for yourself in classic rowing or in beach sprints?

I’m going all in for beach sprints. I see a really nice fun project here in Portugal and I want to be part of that. I love the beach, I love the sea, Portugal is the best place to do it. It’s in the Olympics now so let’s go.

I did the worlds with my partner (Patricia Batista) in the mixed double and we were quite good. It was my first race, her first year of doing that, and it was really good. I’m enjoying being part of that process right now.

What attracted you to try out beach sprints?

It’s more relaxed in a way. I really like the vibe, the beach vibe. It’s not like the surfing community but you are doing different things – not just sit in the boat and row as fast as you can. You have to bring a lot of things, like jumps, getting out of the water, reading the waves, reading the wind. I love that strategy. I believe it’s not just the strongest guys; the smartest guys will win.

What is your favourite erg session?

Maybe 1000 metres. Short pieces. I prefer short pieces than long. I’m quite good on more explosive workouts than too aerobic.

What’s on the erg playlist?

When I’m doing pieces I don’t want to listen to music, I just want to hear the wheel.

When I’m working out it’s whoever puts the speaker on first. I like Portuguese rap, Portuguese hip-hop. I like African vibes like Burna Boy; Brazilian music also.

Where is your favourite place to row?

For flat water it used to be Avis. Now for beach sprints, any bay in Portugal.

If you weren’t a rower, what would you have been?

I am a geography teacher; I’m part-time because I keep training two times a day. Right now I’m trying to balance things.

Another love that I have is geography since a kid. I remember wanting to go home after school and the first thing I was doing was opening Google Earth and travelling. I like travel also, I wish I had more time to travel, but I can travel at any age but I can’t be a top athlete at 50 years old. So right now I’m focused on that.

What’s the best piece of advice anyone’s given you?

To enjoy the way. Not just focus on the final destination, focus on the road. That was good advice that I still take for everything in life. Try to enjoy every training; of course it will be hard, you’ll have pain, but don’t just count days on the calendar.

Our lives as athletes can be too much routine: I have this race, and after this race, and we have to make weight and hold on to the weight one month more … Fortunately I don’t have that any more, at least not for now. I’m really appreciating each good meal. It makes me enjoy life more.