Story update: As of Tue., Aug. 6 it appears that Richmond sailor David Liebenberg and his partner Sarah Newberry Moore placed 16th in the Mixed Multihull event, meaning they did not qualify to compete for an Olympic medal.
fter decades of practice and two previous attempts at an Olympic run, Richmond sailor David Liebenberg’s dream is about to come true. On Saturday he’ll compete with US Sailing on the Bay of Marseille in the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Liebenberg, 32, is soaking it all in and savoring every moment. In a phone interview with Richmondside he described the July 26 Opening Ceremony as “amazing.” It was his first time in Paris, and he rode a boat down the Seine River with other U.S. Sailing athletes as the crowds cheered. He ended up at the base of the Eiffel Tower, watched the Olympic light show, and met well-known athletes such as Warriors player Stephen Curry and Lakers star LeBron James.
How to watch Richmond Olympic sailor
To watch Richmond resident David Liebenberg compete live in the Mixed Multihull event, tune into the Peacock streaming channel at 6:45 a.m. Saturday, 3:05 a.m. Sunday, 6:05 a.m. Tuesday and, if he qualifies for the medal race, 5:43 a.m. Wednesday.
If you’re not such an early riser, Peacock will air recorded broadcasts later on those days.
Sailing races are held several times a day, over a four-day period from Saturday until Tuesday. Teams get points for where they finish, and the lower the number of points the better, similar to how golf is scored. The Top 10 scorers will compete for a medal on Wednesday.
It was a bit cold and raining that day in Paris, perfect weather for a sailor.
“As sailors we were much more into it than maybe other athletes were,” Liebenberg said. “For me, the rain added to the experience a little bit.”
“For me, the rain added to the experience a little bit.”
U.S. Sailing Team member David Liebenberg of Richmond, CA, at the Olympics Opening Ceremony in Paris. Courtesy Ellen Liebenberg
He always knew he would be a competitive sailor. According to his mother, Ellen Liebenberg, it was “in his blood.” They belonged to the Richmond Yacht Club, and the Livermore-based family would regularly sail there when David Liebenberg was young.
His mom remembers the family watching the Winter Olympics in the ‘90s, with David, who she said pointed at the TV and said, “I do that.” She was surprised. He wasn’t even speaking in full sentences at that point.
It wasn’t long before Liebenberg was racing. The family would take him on the boat for sailing competitions, and he first competed at age two-and-a-half, helping out as a part of a five-person racing crew. He became a sailing prodigy. By age 3, his mother said, he “knew the whole sailing geography of the Bay Area.” By age 7, Liebenberg was competing and winning boat races on a weekly basis with The Richmond Yacht Club’s junior sailing program, often beating much older kids.
When David Liebenberg saw the Winter Olympics at age 2, he pointed to the TV and said, “I do that.”
Ellen Liebenberg, mother of Richmond Olympian David Liebenberg. Courtesy Ellen Liebenberg
By 10, he was traveling to places such as Argentina and Tobago to compete in national competitions.
“Everyone recognized this kid’s talent,” Ellen Liebenberg said. “I always knew he had his eyes on the Olympics.”
Since 2014 he’s lived in Point Richmond near the Richmond Yacht Club, which has been supporting him, financially and otherwise, since he graduated from college with a mechanical engineering degree.
Mixed multihull ‘more like flying’ than sailing
Liebenberg and his racing partner, Sarah Newberry Moore of Miami, will sail a Nacra 17 catamaran in the Mixed Multihull Olympics event, which became an Olympic sport in 2016.
Mixed multihull racing is unique, not just because it’s one of the few mixed gender Olympic events, but also because, in the words of his mother, “It’s more like flying than sailing.”
Nacra 17 boats are mounted on hydrofoils that extend down into the water. These, according to U.S. Sailing spokesperson and longtime competitive sailor Allison Chenard, work like airplane wings when the wind conditions allow, lifting the boat out of the water.
Ellen Liebenberg thinks the event is perfect for her son.
“Nobody who knew David as a toddler would be surprised that this is his event,” she said. “He was a high energy kid who loved sailing through the air.”
Chenard said that “wind is an enormous factor,” in sailing races and that U.S. Sailing has been studying the Bay of Marseille since before the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
David Liebenberg said when winds are strong the sport is highly physically demanding. The boat is out of the water almost all the time and can go more than 30 miles per hour. When the winds are calmer, it’s more mentally demanding.
“It’s a very dynamic sport in that you’re constantly responding to what nature is giving you,” he said.
Wind conditions determine how long of a distance the race will be. Olympic race organizers aim to organize races that last 30 minutes. The total miles sailed during each race depends on the wind speeds.
Liebenberg is hoping for a variety of wind conditions, which is likely given how many races are scheduled. Races take place at three different times a day, over a four-day period from Saturday until Tuesday — with at least 12 taking place. Teams get points for where they finish, and the lower the number of points one gets the better, similar to how golf is scored. If the Nacra 17 qualifies in the Top 10, they’ll compete in Wednesday’s medal race.
As the Nacra 17 sails (and flies) through French waters, Liebenberg and Moore will constantly be communicating. The two began sailing together in 2018 and have built a connection through training, traveling, and competing in Europe, New Zealand, and Chile.
In most mixed multihull teams, the man does the driving (“skippering” in sailing terms) while the woman navigates. In their case though, they’ve switched roles, with Liebenberg navigating.
According to Chenard, the skipper of a Nacra 17 is entirely focused on the large sail and “how everything is responding on the boat.” The navigator works a smaller sail, looking around and telling the skipper what they see. It might be like a person driving a car blindfolded guided by a passenger.
“David is Sarah’s eyes outside of the boat,” Chenard said. “He’s constantly communicating.”
Nacra 17s require extensive maintenance to remain in tip-top racing shape. Liebenberg’s Tufts University mechanical engineering degree, and the skills he’s learned since, taught him how to maintain the boat.
“My background really helps me to understand the dynamics, rigging, and the ropes,” he said. “Making sure all the systems in the boat work well is a full-time job.”
His fiancée, Julia Paxton, will be cheering him and Sarah on in Marseille. The two met when they were 15 at the Richmond Yacht Club, where Paxton is also a sailor.
His parents and other family members will cheer him on from home, too. Ellen Liebenberg said that since the races cover large distances, the event is best viewed on TV. She’d like to be there in person, but funding an Olympic journey is costly, and she said the money was better spent on her son’s expenses.
Olympians often must do extensive fundraising to reach the Olympic games. The Richmond Yacht Club Foundation, a nonprofit run through the yacht club, has been Liebenberg’s biggest financial supporter, and such support has allowed him to focus exclusively on training for about the last year.
“I’m thankful that there’s so many people who have supported me over the years,” he said.
Liebenberg and Moore have been performing in the middle of the pack among the mixed multihull competitors, Ellen Liebenberg said. She hopes they’ll medal but is tremendously proud of the duo regardless of how the races go.
“Whatever happens with the sailing, I know just being at the Olympics is a high point in their lives,” she said.
