Charlie Dalin: Most recent Vendee Globe winner dies aged 42 after cancer battle

French sailor Charlie Dalin, the last winner of the non-stop round-the-world Vendee Globe race, died at the age of 42 after a long battle with cancer.

Dalin was dealing with a rare form of gastrointestinal cancer when he won the 2024-25 edition of the Vendee Globe.

He covered the 24,300-mile (39,100 km) route in a record time of 64 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes and 49 seconds, beating the record set by Armel Le Cleac’h in 2017 by more than nine days.

“It is with deep sadness that my family and I announce the passing of my husband, Charlie Dalin, after a long illness,” his wife, Perrine Le Pape, said in a message to AFP on Thursday. he said.

Dalin was accompanied on his boat by his wife and their son Oscar after he crossed the finish line to win the 10th Vendee Globe race in January 2025.

He had finished second in the previous edition of the grueling single-seater race in 2020-21, crossing the line first, then falling to second place when runner-up Yannick Bestaven was given a time bonus for helping save his rival.

Dalin later withdrew from the Transat Jacques Vabre race in late 2023 due to a medical issue.

He only revealed last October that he had been diagnosed with a tumor a few days before the start of the race and was receiving treatment before returning to competition.

He made the statement in a book about his battle with cancer and said he received immunotherapy treatment during his record Vendee Globe victory.