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BBC NEWS

Tatiana Castiello announces that her rowing career is put on hold!
By Desmond Flint, April 16th, 2023

23-year-old professional rower Tatiana Castiello decided to quit her rowing career and will not participate anymore in the world rowing championship.

It was last week that the young six-time world rowing champion announced to the public her decision to not participate in her last year in the under-23 category of the WRC (world rowing championship) but instead put her focus elsewhere. The young woman has been participating in the under-18 category since she was 15 and started to participate in the under-23 category directly after she had just turned 19. While the rowing community is still left in disbelief over Castiello's decision, it should be mentioned that Castiello will continue to row in her free time but also take the courage to enter both the acting and music industry instead. If one finds themselves curious and wants to know more about Castiello and her family, more information is available in the attached links.

Lucette Castiello wins another World Tennis Championship in the women's category

Avaluna Castiello, the new CEO of SINCLAIR Fashion

Who are the Castiello family?

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"I do not understand why you decided to quit, my little fairy queen." My father said as he carefully brushed my hair with the hairbrush I had given him. "I thought you liked rowing?" 

"Papa, I do find rowing very relaxing but I just think it is time for me to take a break from competitive rowing, no?" I answered even though I knew that I still was a little bit unsure of my decision. 

I loved my father and disappointing him was something I hated to do. I knew that he wouldn't be disappointed in me stepping away from rowing but despite that, a small part inside of me argued against me telling me that he would be.

"If you are sure about this decision of yours then I will not say anything against it. As long as you are safe and happy I will support whatever career you want to have, little fairy." He replied before he gently kissed my forehead. 

"Now I believe dinner is ready, and I know for sure that both of your sisters will be irritated if they have to wait on us." My father stepped away from me, giving my shoulder a light squeeze before he walked towards my bedroom door.

"Make sure you are downstairs in 20 minutes, little queen." He said before he left me alone in my room.

The little nicknames my father gave me never failed to make me smile. Despite what many would think, the old man was the one who named both me and my sisters. 

His favourite hobby was to give us nicknames after the name he gave us. I am his little fairy queen, Lucette is his shining light and then you have the oldest of us three, Avaluna who is his little great moon, although the name means great lover, our father decided that moon was a better replacement until she'd find her own man. 

Our mother, however, was responsible for our middle names and even I can't deny that she too had a good ability to give her children good middle names.

I looked in the mirror, inspecting the way my father had brushed my hair and somehow managed to put a little flower behind my ear too. The beloved old man was by no hesitation a girl's dad and making sure that even now in adulthood none of us will settle for someone who only does the bare minimum.

"Tatiana, get your ass down here or so help me I'll ship you back to Narnia!" One of my sisters shouted downstairs, I suspect that it was Lucette. Avaluna was too polite and proper and would therefore never dare to raise her voice to a volume that was unacceptable indoors. It has always been like that for as long as I can remember, but I wouldn't have it any other way. 

"I'm coming!" I replied. I stood up and walked towards the door, sighing loudly to myself as I tried to mentally prepare myself for the interrogation I would receive from both my sisters and my mum.

As I walked downstairs I could not help but think about how lucky I am to have a family that loved me unconditionally and would support me until their dying breath and for me, that was more of a luxury than all the money in the world. However, saying that money did not bring happiness would be a lie too. There are a lot of things you can do when money is involved.

"Finally. What took you so long?" Lucette asked as she interlocked her arm with mine. By the expression she currently has I would suspect that she too has read the tabloids of my quite spontaneous decision. 

If I'm honest, I hadn't meant to blurt out the information about my retirement until after my final participation in the under-23 category, but lo and behold, here we are. Three concerned women and one loving father wondering what my next plan is.

"Papa helped me with my hair, I wanted to try and avoid the rest of the family for as long as I could," I replied. 

Lucette quietly laughed beside me as we walked into the dining room. "Avoid us? Lil sis, you should know us better than that."

I just shrugged before sitting down at the assigned seat that I have had since I was a baby. The only difference is the chair, but other than that this seat was mine and will always be mine. 

"Oh, my little sweet angel." My mother gently said as she walked up to me and kissed both my cheeks. "I just read the tabloids and I can't believe one of my children has retired before me."

"Mother, please, it's not like I am going to retire completely. I mean I still have a whole life in front of me. I just need some time to figure out what I want to do and perhaps the acting and music industry will help me with that." I said as I grabbed the fork.

"I thought we all knew that both of these industries are toxic, no?" Avaluna muttered before she took a sip of her wine.

"Oh, let her be, Luna. If Ana wants to explore those industries, let her. She's 23 already and deserves to explore the world in the way she wants to." Lucette butted in.

"My little fairy queen, what do you say about visiting the Monaco Grand Prix with me?" My father asked, making me divert my attention to him. I stared at him in disbelief. I have wanted to attend a Formula One race for years but have never really been able to due to my old coach and trainer's opinion that no championships are won by attending other sports and focusing on other things.

Their opinion had once created a rift between my sisters and me since I was unable to attend Lucette's matches in tennis and Avaluna's annual company parties. Fortunately for the three of us, our dad had managed to heal our sister bond.

"Are you serious?" I asked, just to make sure I heard him right. I have moments where I tend to mishear what other people say and just try to fill in the gaps with something I would probably want to hear, or just fill in sentences that make no sense just to laugh about it later. 

"I am serious. With your decision to quit rowing, you have a lot more space for these activities. Besides, I've already checked with Mrs. Dupont, your manager, and she says you are free to do whatever until the end of June." My father replied, his warm and gentle eyes stared into mine and all I could do was nod in answer.

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