After everything he had endured, battling three-story waves seemed almost routine.
French sailor Charlie Dalin was in the prime of his career when, in 2023, he began experiencing severe abdominal pain. Doctors soon delivered a life-altering diagnosis: a six-inch cancerous tumor on his small intestine. For most athletes, it would have meant putting dreams on hold. For Dalin, it became another challenge to navigate.
At the time, he was preparing for the Vendée Globe a gruelling 24,000-mile solo race around the world, often called the “Everest of the Seas.” The competition, held every four years, takes sailors through some of the planet’s most dangerous waters off southern Africa, Australia and Antarctica. Only a fraction of those who start ever finish.
With cancer in the picture, withdrawal seemed inevitable. But a leading doctor offered a lifeline: Dalin could still compete if he followed a strict daily immunotherapy regimen.
“I decided to handle it the way I would when I have a problem on board,” Dalin told The Washington Post. “I don’t talk about it when the problem arises. I talk about it when it’s repaired.”
True to his word, Dalin returned to training, pushing through fatigue and pain in a series of warm-up races across the Atlantic. By November 2024, he was ready. With nothing left to do but commit, he took his place among about 40 sailors brave enough to start the Vendée Globe solo, nonstop and without assistance.
He departed France, rounded the treacherous Cape of Good Hope and stayed in close contention, all while sticking to his daily medication. Then, near Australia’s southern coast, he faced a defining moment: a violent storm forced him to choose between a safer, slower northern route or a faster, far riskier southern path.
After a year spent confronting both cancer and danger, Dalin chose the bold option.
For days, his boat was battered by towering swells and gale-force winds. When the seas finally eased, he emerged in the lead on a record-breaking pace. He briefly lost that lead near Antarctica, reclaimed it near Brazil, and after more than two months alone at sea, crossed the finish line in January 2025 as the Vendée Globe champion.
His winning time: 64 days and 19 hours a new race record.
During the race, Dalin’s tumor had grown. Shortly after his victory, he underwent successful surgery to have it removed. The accolades followed: he was named the 2025 Rolex World Sailor of the Year in November and received the 2025 Magnus Olsson Prize in December, honouring excellence, sportsmanship and innovation.
Today, Dalin is focused on restoring his health and returning to everyday life, carrying with him a renewed appreciation for perseverance and perspective.
“I am the happiest man in the world today, that’s for sure,” he said after his Vendée Globe triumph. “These are crazy emotions I’ve never felt before. Crossing the line with the dawn light shining on perfectly smooth water, the boat gliding along. It was simply fabulous.”
His journey stands as a powerful reminder that life’s greatest victories often wait just beyond the rough seas and darkest skies.