French Sailor Beats Cancer, Wins Round-the-World Race

Charlie Dalin had a six-inch cancerous tumor on his small intestine, but he still planned to race 24,000 miles around the world alone.

In 2023, the French sailor received his diagnosis just as he was preparing for the Vendée Globe, a race nicknamed the "Everest of the Seas." The competition forces sailors to navigate some of Earth's most dangerous waters off Antarctica, southern Africa, and Australia completely solo, nonstop, and without any outside help.

Most people would withdraw. Dalin found a doctor who believed he could compete if he took daily immunotherapy pills.

"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."

He started training and entered smaller races across the Atlantic to prepare. In November 2024, he set off from France with about 40 other sailors brave enough to face the freezing temperatures and towering waves.

Dalin navigated past Africa's Cape of Good Hope while staying consistent with his medication. Near Australia's southern coast, a massive storm forced a critical choice: take the safer, slower northern route or risk the faster southern path through dangerous seas.

He went south. His boat battled ferocious swells and gale-force winds for days, but when the storm cleared, he was leading the race.

He lost the lead near Antarctica, then regained it near Brazil. After more than two months at sea, Dalin crossed the finish line in January 2025 with a record-breaking time of 64 days and 19 hours.

His tumor had grown during the race. He underwent surgery shortly after to have it removed.

Why This Inspires

Dalin's victory came with more honors. He was named the 2025 Rolex World Sailor of the Year and won the Magnus Olsson Prize for excellence, sportsmanship, and innovation.

"I am the happiest man in the world today, that's for sure," Dalin said after winning. "Crossing the line with the dawn light shining on perfectly smooth water, the boat gliding along. It was simply fabulous."

His story proves that life's sweetest victories often wait just beyond the roughest seas.