When Felipe Kluver Ferreira crossed the finish line of the A-Final of the Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls at the 2022 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Varese, Italy, he was rowing into the history books; he had just won Uruguay’s first ever championship title in rowing.

How has been the start to your 2022 rowing season been?

Felipe Kluver Ferreira (right), Uruguay, Bronze, 2022 World Rowing Cup II, Poznan, Poland / World Rowing/Benedict Tufnell

I started the season on a high note, at the South American U23 Championships in Porto Alegre, Brazil winning the Men’s double sculls and the lightweight men’s pair with Joaquin Vazques. Then I managed to get into the final of the three World Rowing Cups – at World Rowing Cup II in Poznan, I managed to get on the podium. It helped me reach the U23 World Championships in the best way.

What are your memories of Tokyo in 2021, and the Olympic final?

The memory of the Olympic games is something incredible. The Olympics were my first experience worldwide and to have managed to enter the Olympic final is something huge, both for Bruno (Cetraro Berriolo, my doubles partner), for me and for all of Uruguay since it had been 69 years since it was first achieved.

You just won the first World Rowing U23 Championship gold for Uruguay. What did this win mean to you, and to the Uruguayan rowing community?

After the final in Tokyo, together with Bruno and Osvaldo Borchi, my coach, we decided to work on some improvement. This result in Varese shows that we have been working in an excellent way and personally this World Championship title in the Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls is very satisfying since we will be my last year at the Under 23 level .

What prompted the switch to this boat class?

Because it is my last year as a U23, together with the coach Osvaldo Borchi we decided to give it a try in the lightweight single since my partner Bruno was no longer eligible to race at the U23 level.

How did you first get into rowing?

I discovered rowing by chance one day in 2015 I went to the Mercedes rowing club in Uruguay. I was accompanying a friend who was going to the rowing school in the city of Mercedes, Uruguay, and the school teacher, Carlitos Menendes, invited me to get on a boat. That was the very first time I was in contact with rowing, I didn’t even know how to swim but I went on without about anything ! And from that moment I caught up with the group made some friends and developed relationships with the other rowers.

When you aren’t rowing, what does your life look like?

When I am not racing or training, I like to go out to drink “mate” near a river or a lake or a square or a park

**Felipe Kluver Ferreira, Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls, Uruguay, 2022 World Rowing Cup III, Lucerne, Switzerland / World Rowing/Benedict Tufnell**

What are your upcoming goals in rowing?

Our next goal is the Odesur Games in Paraguay in October – I will be back in the lightweight double sculls with Bruno.

Where is your favourite rowing location?

I like rowing on the Miño River in Tui/Galicia, Spain, where we’ve trained this year for the third year in a row – they have just hosted the Coupe de la Jeunesse there.

If you could give one piece of advice to a rower starting out what would it be?

My advice for beginners is to always love what they do and enjoy life as much as possible.

What is the most memorable piece of advice that has been said to you?

The most memorable piece of advice I’ve been given is “if you think, you lose, so don’t think” – from Mauricio López a teammate from the national team.

Do you have a mentor or athlete that you admire?

I could consider many great athletes as my mentor but there is one who helped me a lot and gave me the motivation to improve – Angel Garcia Correale who competed at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in the double lightweight from Uruguay together with Rodolfo Collazo Tourn. I was lucky that he is from my club and I could row with him and I learned a lot with him.

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Final reactions from 2022 European Rowing Championships

August 2022 - Felipe Kluver Ferreira

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