First Chinese sailor in Vendee Globe aims to inspire future generations
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China's skipper and Paralympic athlete Xu Jingkun poses on his IMOCA Singchain Team Haikou during a training session on Nov 10.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LES SABLES-D’OLONNNE – Among the 13 non-French skippers who took part in the 10th edition of the Vendee Globe on Nov 10, Xu Jingkun was the first Chinese sailor to embark on the non-stop solo around-the-world race, despite losing his left arm at the age of 12.
The son of modest farmers from Shandong province, Xu was not destined to sail the oceans. He lost his left arm up to the elbow after an accident during a fireworks display.
“I discovered that my body was very resilient and my mind too,” he said, accentuating the positive. “Also if I hadn’t lost my arm, I may never have discovered sailing.”
“I’m very honoured to represent China and to be the first Chinese to participate in the Vendee Globe,” the 35-year-old added.
“It’s quite a complex emotion. I’m very excited because I’ve been preparing for this race for two years, but I also feel some pressure because the real challenges are yet to come.”
A track and field athlete, he had the opportunity to join the Chinese Paralympic team preparing for the 2008 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games. However, he chose sailing over running and cycling.
“I came to this sport somewhat by chance,” Xu said. He joined the national team in 2005, when he was 16, to prepare for the 2008 Paralympic Games in China, where he finished 10th in the Sonar class (three-person boat) before turning to professional sailing.
After a 34,000-nautical mile (63,000km) journey that lasted three years across 40 countries with his wife Sofia, he decided to focus on the Vendee Globe.
“It’s a dream I’ve always had,” Xu, whose Imoca Singchain Team Haikou – purchased from another race participant, Alan Roura – is based in Brittany.
“To be able to be on the starting line, I had to work hard for 18 years.
“After more than 6,000 days and nights, being able to turn my once so-called ‘madness’ into reality is an incredible feeling.”
Since then, he has taken part in four races, including the 2022 Route du Rhum transatlantic race and the 2023 Transat Jacques Vabre from Le Havre in France to Martinique in the Caribbean, to qualify for the Vendee Globe.
“During my preparation, many people told me it wasn’t possible, but my example shows that the impossible is possible,” said Xu.
Just like Damien Seguin, who in 2020 was the first disabled athlete to participate in the Vendee Globe, Xu had to cope with the daily challenges of learning how to sail a 60-foot (18.3m) monohull.
“As I grew and slowly adapted, and as I overcame what I call my ‘shortcomings’, I realised that it hasn’t had any negative impact on me. On the contrary, it has had a more positive significance. It has allowed me to gain more, to acquire more strength and to become more resilient,” he said.
The skipper now aims to use his growing popularity to promote the development of the sport in China. In 2020, he founded his own sailing school in Qingdao.
“I believe that with my participation, I can attract more and more young Chinese to love this sport and embrace these kinds of challenges,” he said. REUTERS, AFP
