From her school days in Fiji to competing in the waters of Marseille, the journey of 20-year-old sailor Sophia Morgan has been influenced by Fiji’s Olympic rugby champions. At the tender age of 13, Morgan was deeply moved by Fiji’s victory in the rugby sevens event at the Rio Olympics. This particular event sparked her own Olympic dreams.
Morgan fondly recollects the silence that engulfed Fiji during the men’s rugby sevens final, which saw the nation triumph over Great Britain with a 43-7 score. The win was met with huge celebrations that effectively ended classes for the day. The success of the Fijian team planted in Morgan the belief that she too could achieve the same feat.
Fast forward a few years, Morgan made her Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 games where she competed in the laser radial sailing event and finished 42nd, an amazing experience according to her.
Morgan discovered her passion for sailing at just eight years old. She later moved to New Zealand at the age of 14 to pursue her ambitions of becoming a professional sailor. Her career took off rapidly soon after. She clinched silver at the 2019 Pacific Games and booked her ticket to Tokyo 2020 on the back of an impressive performance at the Women’s Laser Radial World Championship.
Morgan’s journey to the Olympics was hugely supported by an Olympic Solidarity Scholarship, which was instrumental for her to compete at world championships and gain crucial experience. She emphasized that without this scholarship, her opportunities to prepare for the Olympics would have been severely limited.
With the Paris 2024 Olympics in her sights, Morgan continues to blossom, bagging two silver medals at the 2023 Pacific Games and sealing her participation in the next Olympics at the Sail Sydney event. Now more experienced and motivated, Morgan is eager to improve upon her Olympic track record. She expressed her excitement and pride about returning to the Olympics, celebrating it as the culmination of her years of hard work and dedication.