Frenchman Francis Joyon reclaimed the solo round-the-world sailing record by a massive 14 days in the early hours on Sunday, his on-land team said.

Joyon, who beat the record held by Briton Ellen MacArthur, reached the finish line near Brest in the northwestern tip of France in his red trimaran IDEC in 57 days, 13 hours, 34 minutes and six seconds.

The 51-year-old, whose previous record was beaten by MacArthur in February 2005, managed the feat despite being on the brink of failure during the final 10 days because of damage to his 32-metre mast. He left Brest on Nov. 23.

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