France's Thomas Coville Breaks Record for Sailing Solo Around the World by 8 1/2 Days

France's Thomas Coville not only set a world record Monday for sailing around the world solo, he eclipsed the previous mark by nearly 8 1/2 days. In his fifth attempt to beat the record held by Francis Joyon, Coville sailed the globe starting from- and returning back to- his native country in 49 days, 3 hours, 7 minutes and 38 seconds.

Joyon's record of 57 days, 13 hours, 34 minutes and 6 seconds had lasted since January 2008. Somewhere, Jules Verne is, like, "How many days?!?"

Coville told Yachts and Yachting that no one was planning a sub-50-day time, but once he realized that such a feat was possible, "a weighty sensation" of anguish overwhelmed him to push for it. So, he pushed himself and his three-hulled Sodebo Ultim craft—a 102 foot long by 69 foot wide boat, with 115-foot sails that weigh 330 pounds—despite the sails being full of water.

Manuevering became increasingly difficult as Coville's mental and physical fatigue grew. He described having "blood in my mouth" as he carried the sails across the boat, while his craft was tossed about like a toy boat. He never slept for longer stretches than three hours. The Guardian reports that only twice have sailboats ever gone faster around the globe, but those ships had crews of 10 and 14, who worked in shifts.

Coville, 48, covered 28,400 nautical miles at an average speed of 24.09 knots. He also set speed records for sailing the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and for going from equator to equator. When he was done, he talked to reporters at the Brittany port of Brest while resting, on his knees, on deck. Later, he phoned Yachts and Yachting:

"It's a very big day for me both as an athlete and as a man. I'm proud of the journey I've been on to get to this point. I've fallen, I've picked myself up and all that has given me this mental strength. Experience is what one does with one's failures. I can say today that I've enhanced the value of them.

"That's what I'm proud of."

Going into his attempt that began November 6, Coville said he hoped to pass the finish line before 2016 ended, which he cleared handily. Here's video of Coville finishing his historic race. It's in French, but non-speakers should get the gist:

More information is available on Sodebo's Facebook page. Also, is it too late to make Coville the Sportsperson of the Year?