Luca Ferraro

Club CUBC Men

Year of Birth 2002

Hometown Islington, London

Nationality British

College King’s College

Undergrad/Graduate Undergraduate

Year 1st

What are you studying? Classics

What is the most interesting part of your course? Do you have any professional or academic plans after? At this stage my course is very language focused: my goal is currently to get a complete grasp of Latin so I can speak to the Pope. Depending on how well that goes over the next few years, I might have to apply for a postgraduate course.

Future ambitions? Beat Oxford as many times as possible.

How do you balance rowing and academic life? Rearrange the things that are flexible to fit the two schedules together, and commit to getting the important things done when they come up. Once you let academic deadlines pass by it’s very hard to come back to them. Training sessions, however tiring, sometimes have to be your breaks from work.

When did you start rowing, and why? I started at my local rowing club in 2016. My dad used to row and he decided that I was about the right build to have a chance at not being terrible at it. While this remains to be seen I certainly don’t have enough hand eye co-ordination to do a less painful sport.

What was your first club? Lea Rowing Club in Hackney.

What is your favourite part of rowing for Cambridge? Just the bloody boys.

What’s your rowing history, and what has been your biggest achievement so far? I was hooked from the first session, and despite only sculling as a junior I was lucky enough to do some amazing events. I raced the Fawley Challenge Cup for quad sculls at Henley for Lea RC twice, in 2018 and narrowly missed out on the weekend in 2019. I also represented GB at the Coupe De La Jeunesse in the double sculls in 2019, which I think is my biggest achievement. Almost all of my last year as a junior was cancelled but I’d been looking forward to seeing what I could’ve achieved in the national trials and another Henley campaign in the quad.

Have you raced in the Boat Race before? If yes, when? No.

Your favourite race so far? GB junior trials in November 2019. It had rained a lot which raised the water level - combined with a juicy tailwind it meant that conditions were so fast I beat my best time for 5k on the erg in a single on the water.

Do you have any race day habits or superstitions? I always wear a lucky pair of socks that I borrowed from the J16 single sculls champion of Israel.

Your sporting idol? Steve Prefontaine.

If you could have any sportsperson in your crew, who would it be? Steve Sim-pole. A great athlete from the glory days of rowing on the Lea with a golden track record, who can still rip on an erg when he feels like it. All round GOAT.

What gets you through a tough session? Do you have a mantra, rituals? I like to earn my dinner.

Any hobbies, other interests outside rowing? Watching documentaries related to classics such as 300, Gladiator and Hercules to further my studies. Also cooking pasta to honour my ancestors, when I’m not in my kitchen-less accommodation.

How do you motivate yourself and your teammates, especially with Covid restrictions? Bring some youthful energy. I don’t think the CUBC are a squad that has ever struggled with motivation, but with the restrictions this year it’s important for us to make the most of the miles we get to row together even more than ever before, because we’re lucky to be able to train as a team despite everything that’s going on.