Under 19 Rowing World Championships, in Varese Luca and Marco Vicino, twins of the oar

The history of Italian rowing is indelibly marked by the successes of the Abbagnale brothers, the legendary boat that between the 80s and early 90s won the World Championships and the Olympics with the two con. In the last editions of the Games the Croatian brothers Martin and Valent Sinkovic have established themselves, first gold in the double in Rio then in the two without in Tokyo. But at the Under 19 World Championships that kick off on Wednesday on the Schiranna competition field in Varese, the combination of brothers leaves room for the intense and symbiotic one that twins can have. Italy, in the two without, the minors card of the Vicino brothers, Luca and Marco, is played. The 18-year-old twins are the youngest of the Neapolitan neighbors dynasty: Giuseppe, born in 1993, has two Olympic bronzes in the four without in Rio and Tokyo, Antonio, born in 1995, is one of the blues of “light” boats.

All together

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Marco overturns, Luca to cart two. An education that has never changed in their young career. “We started at 10 by looking at our brothers – the two Italians say in chorus -. Obviously, for us too, the baptism with oars took place at Lago Patria ”. And since that day Luca and Marco have rowed chasing the same dreams, in the water and in life. “We passed the high school exams at the Scientific High School. Same class, same grade, 92. And now we are undecided whether to try to go to College in the USA continuing our rowing training there and then return to compete in the summer in blue or join a Corps and enroll at the University in Italy ”. The only renunciation that the “twins of the oar” had to bear is that of the driving license. “When we turned up in January, in February we thought about starting to prepare ourselves – says Luca – instead between school, extracurricular courses and training we realized that it was not possible, so we postponed”.

Olympiad

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Relationship between twins that has advantages but also some nuances that you have to be good at accepting and overcoming. “Sometimes you don’t need words, just a glance: we understand each other straight away – underlines Marco -. An aspect that is apparently negative but which if accepted becomes an advantage for our relationship is that we say things to each other without filters ”. Two twins who from the first day of rowing have to live with the fact that they are the younger brothers of Giuseppe, the first blue to win a world championship in two without together with Matteo Lodo (in 2017). “It’s nice even if we try to be ourselves. Peppe, as well as Antonio, is a point of reference for all our difficulties ”. Like all sportsmen, even more so with a multi-medaled brother at the Games, Luca and Marco dream of participating in the Olympics. “It is the highest point of every sportsman. Maybe Paris 2024 is early even if never say never. Perhaps aiming for Los Angeles 2028 is more realistic. Who knows maybe all 4 brothers… “. Meanwhile, there is a World Cup at home to try to win on the same stretch of water where in 2014 his brother Giuseppe won gold in the two without at the Under 23 World Cup paired with Matteo Lodo. Varese is ready to host a new page in the infinite saga of the Vicino brothers. Italy is ready to embrace the “twins of the oar”.