PATTAYA, Thailand – Sophia Montgomery of Harvard sailing punched her ticket to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris by finishing fourth in the ILCA 6 Class at the Asian Sailing Championship yesterday while representing Thailand.
 
Competing at the Royal Varuna Yacht Club in her native country of Thailand, Montgomery finished fourth out of 33 sailors with a total of 74 points.  While Montgomery just missed the podium, her efforts to hold off Nethra Kumanan of India instead of moving up the ladder in the final race allowed Thailand to qualify for the games with a second-place finish on the leaderboard.  Ultimately, Montgomery finished behind a trio of Chinese competitors and one ahead of her sister, Marion Grace Montgomery. 
 
Olympic sailing competition will be held in Marseille from July 28 to August 8, 2024.  Montgomery is the first Harvard sailor to qualify for the Olympics since Julia Trotman '88 in 1992.  The Bangkok, Thailand, native joins 16 other Harvard sailors to represent the Crimson at the Games since the sport began at the Olympics in 1900. 
 
Montgomery is no stranger to big-time performances as the Crimson sailor was crowned a national champion last season following a first-place finish at the Women's Singlehanded National Championship.  With a total of 58 points, Montgomery held a 15-point advantage over the second-place finisher and topped 18 total sailors for the title.