Nina Castagna

Quick Facts

• Began rowing when one of her friends from high school convinced her to try it out. She thought it'd be nice to put some muscle on as a high school freshman. She showed up on her first day as a 4'10”, 78-pound kid and watched practice from the launch as they explained the role of a coxswain to her. She was intrigued but significantly more interested in the Rowing portion, so she asked her novice coach when she would get to learn to row. She looked Nina up and down and said, "Let me check on that." and never followed up again.

• Lists her college coach, Yaz Farooq, as one of her personal heroes. Farooq taught Nina how to be a good leader, a good teammate, but most importantly, she shaped Nina’s perspective on rowing. She showed Nina the value of empowering women through this sport and bringing up those around you in the process – even those on opposing teams.
• Lists the women's eight at the 2012 Olympics as her most memorable Olympic moment. She remembers her high school coach showing her the race four years after it had happened, in an attempt to show her "the blueprint" for effective rowing. Nina has looked back at this race a lot since then and gets chills every time, watching their dominance and how determined they were during every stroke of this race.

Olympic Experience

• 1-time Olympian;
  • Olympic Games Paris 2024, 5th (Eight - Women)

World Championships Experience

• Most recent: 2023 – silver (Eight - Women)
• Years of participation: Eight - Women 2023
• Medals: 1 (1 silver)
• Silver – 2023 (Eight - Women)

Career Highlights

• 2023 NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships, 2nd (Varsity Eight)

• 2022 NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships, 5th (Varsity Eight)
• 2021 NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships, 3rd (Varsity Eight)
• 2021 Pac-12 Championships, 1st Place (Varsity Eight)