Olympic Rower, Nicolò Carucci, at a Crossroads

The question is always the same: can athletes balance playing elite sports (nationally or internationally) with studying at university, especially high-profile universities? According to research by the Italian Footballers' Association, only 4.8% of Italian soccer players have a university degree. In other sports, the figure is probably higher, but professional athletes with a degree (or who are enrolled in university) remain a clear minority. That kind of double commitment is truly all-encompassing and there never seem to be enough hours in the day. But every athlete has their own answer. Take Nicolò Carucci, for example. The 24-year-old Milan native is a European gold medalist in the quadruple sculls at the 2022 and 2024 European Championships, bronze and silver medalist at the World Championships (also in the quadruple sculls in 2022 and 2023), and he participated in his first Olympic Games (in the double sculls) in Paris. After graduating from LIUC in Castellanza, Carucci arrived at Bocconi to attend the Master in Corporate Finance, with the goal in the not too distant future to become a successful professional in finance.

"Now I'm focusing a lot on academics, that's my priority. With the Olympics, last year was a long year, between training, recovery and studying. In general, I think you can focus on both things, but not at the same time at full capacity, one of the two has to come first. If you do both at the same time, you may deliver good results in both academics and athletics, but not the best you could have achieved. For this reason, now, while continuing to train and keep fit, I have decided to focus entirely on my studies." Nicolò Carucci was a precocious talent in rowing, with early wins under his belt. Yet he got his start in rowing almost by chance. "I was swimming and horseback riding at Canottieri Milano, and one day a rowing coach saw me and asked me if I wanted to try it. I accepted and so my career began at age 13." Then at 17, he had a breakthrough: "I joined the Gavirate Rowing Club. I used to take the train for four hours a day, five times a week to go to practice, after spending the morning in the classroom at Liceo Vittorini. It was exhausting."

That experience paid off, however, with his first medals at the European and World Championships in his category (Under 19 and Under 23), and then entering the senior national team straight away. Nicolò is quick to recommend his fast track in the sport: "Rowing opens many doors, especially at Anglo-Saxon universities, where this sport is very important. In my case, when I was 19 and fresh from my early successes, prestigious universities like Harvard and Princeton contacted me to offer scholarships. Why didn't I go? Because the Federation believed in me a lot and I had everything I needed. They never gave me a reason to leave." Nicolò Carucci also came to Bocconi thanks to a scholarship: "It’s really important, because, in addition to the concrete value of the scholarship, it’s also a tangible recognition of the commitment that student-athletes dedicate to focusing on both academics and athletics."

At the next Olympic Games — Los Angeles 2028 — Nicolò Carucci will be 27 years old, the best age for rowers and athletes in general. Is he already thinking about it? "Sport teaches us to be cautious, so we have to make room for big dreams and big goals, but we also have to be realistic. You have to look inside yourself and understand what your goals and real possibilities are and then make the best choice in the future as well. Athletes at 30, 35 years old stop and often struggle to create a 'life after.' I want to think about that too. I’d like to build a satisfying professional career, I want something that will be interesting even 30 years from now. I’d say that I’m at a crossroads now but I’m confident I’ll make the choice that best represents my future ambitions."