Charlie Dalin’s uninvited guest: “I have cancer, and I won the Vendée Globe with it.”

The ocean sailing world was rocked by the story of Charlie Dalin, the winner of the last Vendée Globe, who announced to the French media that he was being treated for a form of gastrointestinal cancer, which he had been diagnosed with even before the round-the-world race.

Charlie Dalin – The Diagnosis

In fact, the diagnosis dates back to the fall of 2023, when Dalin began experiencing severe abdominal pain, and after investigations a 15 cm mass was detected in his intestine. The diagnosis came only days before the Transat Jacques Vabre in which he was supposed to participate, and which he gave up two days before the start. However, the cause of the renunciation had not been clarified that time, justified with generic health problems.

As Dalin recounted, treatment began immediately, which allowed him after a few months to return to the boat to train and even be able to prepare for his second Vendée Globe, which he would go on to win with a record, dominating the race.

Dalin told of having had to “manage” the disease during the round-the-world race: in addition to medication, he had to study a special diet, and sleep much more than the other skippers did, up to 6 1/2 hours in the 24 hours, which for solo racers is a lot. Illness during the race sometimes took its toll, but concentration toward the competition managed to put it in parentheses for the course of the race.

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The post Vendée Globe

Returning to shore triumphant, however, came the icy shower: the disease had advanced and surgery was needed. Only 6 weeks after winning the Vendée Globe Dalin was then operated on and a piece of his intestine was removed. Long weeks followed during which recovery from the surgery involved feeding only via IV, which inevitably took away Dalin’s weight and muscle mass. Impossible to imagine a return to the boat in short, not least because in spring 2025 the disease came knocking at the Frenchman’s door again, and new treatments began.

Dalin in the video interview conducted with a French broadcaster appeared very slim and aged, but very lucid, aware, and with a calmness that we have seen many times before in his moments on the boat. He told that the top priority right now is his health and family, and that at this moment being able to return to sailing is unthinkable.

He said he is hopeful that he can overcome the disease, treatments exist, so his sports career is currently inside a parenthesis that we do not know how long it will last. All our cheers go out to him, like that time at the Vendée Globe when he single-handedly set off ahead of the big storm in the Kerguelen Islands and dealt a decisive blow to win the Vendée Globe.

Mauro Giuffrè

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