South Korea’s Jeemin Ha and Thailand’s Sophia Montgomery have secured the first sailing quota places for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games after winning the ILCA 7 and ILCA 6 events at the Asian Games in Japan. The results on Friday, 2 October, mark the opening of the Olympic sailing qualification process for LA28, with the Asian Games offering the first two nation places of the new cycle.
The quota places belong to South Korea and Thailand rather than the individual sailors, with their respective National Olympic Committees ultimately responsible for selecting who competes at the Games.
Montgomery Dominates ILCA 6
Montgomery completed the women’s ILCA 6 series on just five points, comfortably ahead of Singapore’s Jania Ang on 13 and India’s Nethra Kumanan on 14.
Thai charge: Sophia Montgomery powers her ILCA 6 through the final series in Japan, where victory secured Thailand a women’s dinghy quota place for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Photo: Junichi Hirai
The 23-year-old Thai-American sailor, who competed at Paris 2024, secured Thailand’s continental quota after racing in a 13-nation fleet at Kaiyoh Yacht Harbour in Gamagori. Montgomery finished 27th at the Paris Olympics and is now in contention to represent Thailand at a second Games.
Ha Takes Fourth Asian Games Gold
Ha won the ILCA 7 competition with nine points, two clear of Hong Kong’s Nicholas Halliday on 11, while Malaysia’s Khairulnizam Mohd Afendy was third on 14.
First ticket: South Korea’s Jeemin Ha celebrates his ILCA 7 Asian Games victory, which earned his country one of the first two sailing quota places awarded for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Photo: Junichi Hirai
The 37-year-old South Korean is a five-time Olympian and secured his fourth Asian Games gold medal.
Ha and Halliday were both among the international fleet that raced on Dublin Bay at the 2026 ILCA 7 World Championship, where Ha was among the leading group after the opening races, as Afloat reported from Dún Laoghaire.
LA28 Qualification Gets Underway
The Asian Games offered one continental quota place in each men’s and women’s dinghy event, making South Korea and Thailand the first nations to qualify boats through the LA28 sailing qualification system.
Olympic breakthrough: Singapore’s Jania Ang, Thailand’s Sophia Montgomery and India’s Nethra Kumanan celebrate their ILCA 6 Asian Games medals, with Montgomery’s victory securing Thailand’s first sailing quota place for LA28. Photo: Junichi Hirai
For Ireland, the qualification campaign follows a significant home-season benchmark, when Dún Laoghaire hosted the ILCA 7 and ILCA 6 World Championships in August and September. Ireland’s Olympic ILCA campaign includes Finn Lynch and Ewan McMahon in the ILCA 7 and Eve McMahon in the ILCA 6, all of whom have been competing on the road to LA28.
The LA28 Olympic sailing programme retains the ILCA 7 as the men’s dinghy and ILCA 6 as the women’s dinghy. Both events are scheduled to begin on 23 July 2028, with their finals on 26 July at the Port of Los Angeles.
