Winner of the last Vendée Globe despite intestinal cancer, the Norman was honored this Monday evening at the Casino de Paris.
A deluge of applause and gut-wrenching emotion when Tony Estanguet, the boss of Paris 2024, released his name on the stage of the Casino de Paris. This Monday evening, amid tears, Charlie Dalin was named sailor of the year 2025 for his victory last January in the legendary Vendée Globe. A performance and a triumph (record broken by nine days), after his “first second place» four years earlier (he had crossed the line first but was overtaken in the ranking by Yannick Bestaven, following time compensation for his participation in a rescue), which would surely have been enough for him to pocket this coveted title of Sailor of the Year for the first time.
The revelation last October that a stowaway, namely a rare intestinal cancer, had accompanied him on his monohull Macif Santé Prévoyance during this incredible fight around the planet, took him into a whole new dimension. “The first time I followed this ceremony was in 2009, with the coronation of Michel Desjoyeaux. This touches me a lot. It is a great honor to be here this evening. Really thank you!», whispered the winner.
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During a lunch at the National Assembly, at the invitation of deputy-navigator Jimmy Pahun, the fourteen members of the jury brought together by Jean-Luc Denéchau, president of the French Sailing Federation and Corinne Migraine, recently elected vice-president of the international federation, did not draw endless tacks to agree on the name of the big winner (already acclaimed by the 8,000 voters of the public on internet). From the first exchanges between Tony Estanguet, the president of the jury, the officials of the FFVoile, the military authorities and the journalists, Charlie Dalin appeared essential. And in the first round of voting, the 41-year-old sailor was unanimously elected. A first in the history of this trophy.
Human qualities
Tony Estanguet, the head of the jury, confirmed that this choice was obvious for its members, even if Alexis Loison (winner of the Solitaire du Figaro 2025) and Charlotte Yven (second in the Solitaire and first woman to win the French offshore racing championship) notably appeared in the discussions.
«Charlie Dalin really ticked all the boxeshe detailed. I think we all noticed that on a sporting level, the performance he achieved this year, I was going to say like almost four years ago, is extraordinary. Beyond that, we were also moved by the human qualities that he was able to exude in his performance, the way in which he managed this sporting feat by sharing it with the general public, by being able to remain the image of a champion that we all have in mind, who is both the best in his sport but who is also capable of being exemplary in his behavior, in his humanity.»
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And the boss of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games added, in reference to the terrible illness of the Norman sailor: “The revelation of his cancer also greatly moved the general public since he, there too, managed to find words that go far, far beyond the realm of sport, (…) to touch people’s hearts. Charlie Dalin expressed very well that he is first and foremost a man who himself is subject to this type of illness and that he has managed to manage it in an extraordinary way. So it reminds us all of our fragility and at the same time the fight that was even stronger during this Vendée Globe.»
His performance was extraordinary. He took it to a level beyond sport and I find that it moved the French
Tony Estanguet
The beautiful unanimity of the jury obviously did not surprise Tony Estanguet. “For a few months now, we have clearly seen that it is the sailor who has marked this year 2025. He is, I find, a very fine ambassador for sailing, but beyond that, for French sport in general. I believe he has gone beyond the boundaries of his sport and we know how difficult it is in sports like this. His performance was extraordinary. He took it to a level beyond sport and I find that it moved the French, even internationally, because it was not only his sporting level that impressed, but it was also his personality and his humanity that made the difference.».
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Elected “Sailor of the year” by the International Sailing Federation on November 6, Charlie Dalin signed a double never before achieved. A great first for a sailor and a man who quite simply brought us to tears during his victorious arrival last January, then in October, when his illness was announced.
FFVoile
