World Sailing has named two offshore sailing stars its top achievers. French cancer survivor Charlie Dalin, and Swiss record-breaker Justine mettraux have won the prestigious Rolex World Sailor of the year awards in Ireland's Dun Laoghaire. Dalin won the male title for his undisputed victory in the 2024-2025 Vendee Globe. He completed the non-stop, solo circumnavigation on Macif Sante Prevoyance within 64 days, 19 hour, 22 minutes and 49 seconds, shattering the previous course record. His victory was made even more impressive by the revelation that in 2023 he had been diagnosed with a gastrointestinal tumour. He competed, taking daily medication to manage his illness.

Swiss sailor Mettraux won the female award for her historic performance at the Vendee Globe. She was the first woman to finish the race on Teamwork - Team SNEF. She completed the race in 76 hours, 36 minutes and 52 seconds. This is a record for a single-handed woman to complete a non-stop monohull around the world. New Zealand won the Team of the Year Award after their third consecutive America's Cup win in Barcelona, 2024.

The Youth Awards went to Nikolaos Pappas from Greece, aged 13, who won his first ever international event by winning the Optimist World Championship, and Marta Cardona from Spain, who was a debutant in both the 470 Mixed World Championship and European Championships.

World Sailing presented the 11th Hour Racing Impact Award for its work in protecting seagrass beds and maerl meadows across southern England’s conservation areas. (Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

(source: Reuters)