Sophia Morgan: the Fijian sailor taking inspiration from rugby sevens stars ahead of Paris 2024
As we continue our series following Olympic Solidarity scholarship-holders on the road to Paris 2024, Fijian sailor Sophia Morgan explains how her journey to the Games has been inspired by her country’s Olympic medal-winning rugby sevens teams.
Sophia Morgan can remember exactly where she was when Fiji won its first-ever Olympic medal, at the Olympic Games Rio 2016. For a Pacific island nation with a population of fewer than one million people, reaching the Olympic podium for the first time was a huge achievement – and the magnitude of the occasion was not lost on the 13-year-old Morgan.
“I was in class that day,” she recalls of the men’s rugby sevens final, which saw Fiji triumph 43-7 over Great Britain. “It felt like the whole of Fiji was quiet because everyone was just watching or listening to it. When they won the gold medal it was just a massive celebration; we all ran outside and that was pretty much the end of class for the day.”
“Rugby is so big in Fiji, so to see the [men’s] sevens team winning gold was quite inspiring,” she says. “It really made you think, ‘I can do that too.’”
Fast forward to the next Olympic Games, Tokyo 2020, and the 17-year-old Morgan was making her Olympic debut in sailing in the laser radial event, eventually finishing in 42nd place.
“It was an amazing experience,” she recalls. “I’m used to sailing and competing as an individual, so to feel part of Team Fiji was really special.”
Navigating changes
Morgan had taken up sailing as an eight-year-old at the same club where her father had learnt the sport, and then moved to New Zealand at the age of 14 to attend high school and pursue her sailing dreams.
The new surroundings had a profound impact on her sailing progression. “There were just a lot more boats on the starting line and more regattas that I could attend and get more experience at,” she explains. “Sailing is like an apprenticeship – you have to do the time before you actually start seeing results. And coming to New Zealand just provided more opportunities, with more racing and more access to coaching and training partners. It also meant I could travel overseas for international regattas.”
The results soon followed, with Morgan finishing second in the women's laser radial team event at the 2019 Pacific Games. After finishing as the best-placed sailor from the Oceania region at the 2020 Women's Laser Radial World Championship, Morgan secured qualification for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, while she also received an Olympic Solidarity Scholarship to aid her preparations for the Games. That support from Olympic Solidarity has continued ahead of Paris 2024, and has proved to be invaluable for Morgan.
Essential support
“Receiving the scholarship has been a massive relief,” she explains. “Having the scholarship has allowed me to travel and enter more regattas. Sailing is an expensive sport – whether it’s equipment or travelling or regatta entries – so the scholarship has helped so much.”
Morgan’s efforts to qualify for Paris 2024 saw her competing in regattas around the world, including the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands, where she claimed two silver medals in the individual and team laser radial events. She eventually secured her spot at the Games with an eighth-place finish at the Sail Sydney event in Australia in December 2023, and believes the support from Olympic Solidarity was integral to her qualification.
“Without the scholarship, we would have been quite limited with what we could have done in preparation for the Olympics,” she explains. “Without the scholarship, I wouldn't have been able to attend the World Championships in the Netherlands [in 2023], or Argentina [in 2024], which provided so much experience because I got to sail against the same people who I'll be racing against at the Olympic Games, which is super important.”
Excited to represent Fiji
With her qualification secured, Morgan’s attention is now focused on an improved Olympic performance when she takes to the waters of the Marseille Marina in August.
“I’m super excited to be going to the Olympic Games again,” she says. “I’m obviously a bit older now, and I’ve worked a lot more on my sailing and my fitness, so I’m excited to see what my performance is going to be. It’s going to be a proud moment for me, and my family, as it’s the result of all the effort that’s gone into the past few years since Tokyo, and even the years before that.”
Over 1,300 athletes supported through Olympic Solidarity
A total of 1,319 athletes from 159 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), covering 26 sports, received Olympic Solidarity scholarships for Paris 2024. Olympic Solidarity aims to ensure that talented athletes of all backgrounds have an equal chance of reaching and succeeding in the Olympic arena by providing crucial funding to help finance their Olympic dreams. With a particular focus on athletes and NOCs most in need, Olympic Solidarity scholarships provide athletes with financial support through monthly grants that contribute to their preparation and qualification for the Games, whether in their home country or at a high-level training centre abroad.