Vendee Globe record winner Charlie Dalin dies at 42 after cancer battle

French sailor Charlie Dalin, who won the around-the-world race Vendee Globe in record time last year, has died from cancer. He was 42.

Vendee Globe organizers announced his death on Thursday and French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to “an extraordinary sailor, a rare example of courage, a guiding light on the open sea.”

Dalin was diagnosed with gastrointestinal cancer in 2023 but did not make it public before he completed his 2024-25 solo journey in less than 65 days, nearly 10 days faster than the previous mark — and making up for missing out on the victory in the previous edition.

Dalin crossed the line first in 2021 as well after 80 days at sea, only to see Yannick Bestaven awarded the win by more than two hours after receiving a 10-hour time bonus for helping to rescue another competitor.

There was no such disappointment for Dalin last year at Les Sables-d’Olonne, the seaside port on the Atlantic coast of western France that serves as both the start and finish of the race. Dalin smashed Armel Le Cleac’h’s previous record by more than nine days, winning the grueling event in just 64 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes on his MACIF Santé Prévoyance yacht.

Dalin’s nearest rival during the race, Yoann Richomme, paid a vibrant homage to his friend.

“What a remarkable fight you waged against this cruel illness. I am deeply impressed by your perseverance and optimism, right up to your final days,” Richomme said on social media. “Our battles on the water, from our first tacks in the Figaro class, eventually led us to that fierce contest during the last Vendée Globe, which thrilled us so much. I cherished the years we spent together, the hearty laughs we shared, and our mutual determination to always give our very best on the water.”

The Vendee Globe is held every four years with sailors competing single-handed and unassisted on their boats. It takes sailors around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin in western Australia and South America’s Cape Horn, over some 24,000 nautical miles (about 44,500 kilometers).

Dalin, a graduate in naval architecture from the University of Southampton, led the fleet for a total of 42 days.

Dalin, who came from Le Havre in Normandy, fell in love with the sport at age six during a holiday sailing course in Brittany. Dalin honed his skills in the Figaro class for seven seasons before entering the IMOCA circuit in 2019. In addition to his second-place finish at the 2021 Vendee Globe, he was also runner-up in the 2022 Route du Rhum, a transatlantic race from France to the Caribbean.

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AP sailing: https://apnews.com/hub/sailing