Death of Charlie Dalin. The Vendée Globe winner had recounted his achievement despite his cancer: "When I started sailing again, it did me a world of good."

Charlie Dalin died at the age of 42 from cancer. The French sailor, winner of the 2024-2025 Vendée Globe, revealed several months after his triumph that he had won the round-the-world race while battling a gastrointestinal tumor. His story had shaken the sailing world. In January 2025, he completed the Vendée Globe in first place, after 64 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes, and 49 seconds at sea. A record-breaking victory, already exceptional from a sporting perspective. But the feat took on an even greater dimension when Charlie Dalin revealed that he had competed in the race while battling cancer.

A Vendée Globe won with illness on board

Charlie Dalin's cancer was diagnosed in the fall of 2023. It was a gastrointestinal stromal tumor, a rare form of cancer, located in the intestine. The sailor had mentioned a mass of about 15 centimeters, which he described as "a grapefruit in the stomach"Despite the illness, the tests, the treatments, and the doubts, he had managed to return to competition. The start of the Vendée Globe in November 2024 had not only marked the beginning of a round-the-world race. For him, it was already a personal victory. During the race, Charlie Dalin had continued his daily treatment aboard his IMOCA. Macif Health and WelfareHe had to adapt his way of sailing, recovering and managing his energy. But he had continued to move forward, until he crossed the finish line victorious in Les Sables-d'Olonne, in January 2025.

"When I started sailing again, it did me a world of good."

Nine months after his victory, Charlie Dalin had told The team what the sea had given him during his illness. Resuming sailing had allowed him to regain a sense of balance, concentration, and joy: "When I started sailing again, it did me a world of good.""He told our colleagues that sailing hadn't erased the illness, but it had allowed him to avoid being defined by it. Sailing, preparing his boat, going back to sea: all of that had helped him stay strong. He also explained that he wouldn't have started the race if the doctors had expressed the slightest serious doubt. His family, his health, and his safety remained his top priorities. But the treatment had stabilized his condition enough for him to consider participating in the race."

A sporting victory that has become a symbol of courage

Charlie Dalin hadn't just won the Vendée Globe. He had won it by overcoming one of the toughest challenges of his life. The race is already extreme for a sailor in peak physical condition: a solo, non-stop, unassisted circumnavigation of the globe, constant fatigue, violent weather, repairs at sea, fragmented sleep, and relentless pressure. Charlie Dalin won it while living with a serious illness. His victory therefore took on a special significance. It told the story of a skipper's achievement, but also the story of a man's resilience, a man who refused to let cancer dictate his life.

A book to tell the story of the illness and send a message of hope

At the end of 2025, Charlie Dalin revealed his cancer diagnosis in a book entitled The Force of DestinyPublished by Gallimard, his book recounted the diagnosis, the treatments, the surgeries, the relapses, the preparation for the Vendée Globe, and how he experienced the race with this secret. He also wanted to send a message to people facing illness. His story wasn't presented as a lesson, but as a personal testimony. Charlie Dalin knew that every cancer is different, that every treatment doesn't produce the same effects, and that not everyone can continue to live or work in the same way. But he wanted to show that a future remains possible, even after a devastating diagnosis. He wanted to say that you must continue to dream, to plan for the future, to seek what gives you strength.

A career put on hold, but not abandoned.

After his victory, Charlie Dalin hoped to see his illness stabilize. He had had to put his career on hold to recover and rebuild his physical strength. He had lost weight, experienced the fatigue of the treatments, and needed to regain his strength. He was nevertheless considering, if his condition allowed, a gradual return to competition. He wasn't necessarily talking about another Vendée Globe, but he held onto the idea of ​​racing again one day, perhaps in transatlantic races. In January 2026, he withdrew from the Route du Rhum to continue his recovery. A difficult but necessary decision, dictated by the priority he gave to his health.

A track record in French sailing

Charlie Dalin leaves behind one of the most impressive track records in recent French sailing. Before his victory in the Vendée Globe, he had won the Transat Jacques-Vabre in Imoca with Yann Eliès in 2019. He had also won the race New York Vendée-Les Sables d'Olonne In 2024, a significant step in his preparation for the round-the-world race. He had been crowned IMOCA world champion in 2021 and 2022. In the 2020-2021 Vendée Globe, he crossed the finish line first, before being awarded second place after Yannick Bestaven was compensated for his role in rescuing Kevin Escoffier. Four years later, Charlie Dalin took his revenge by officially winning the 2024-2025 Vendée Globe, setting a new record in the process…