French sailor Charlie Dalin won the around-the-world race Vendee Globe in record time on Tuesday, completing his solo journey in less than 65 days — nearly 10 days faster than the previous mark — to make up for missing out on the victory in the previous edition four years ago.

Dalin had crossed the line first in 2021 as well after 80 days at sea, only to see Yannick Bestaven awarded the win after receiving a time bonus for helping rescue another competitor.

There was no such disappointment for Dalin, 40, this year at Les Sables-d’Olonne, the seaside port on the Atlantic coast of western France that serves as both the start and finish of the race. Dalin smashed Armel Le Cleach’s previous record by more than nine days, winning the grueling event in just 64 days, 19 hours and 22 minutes on his MACIF Santé Prévoyance yacht.

GOLF

PGA and British Open champion Xander Schauffele withdrew from this week’s PGA Tour visit to the Coachella Valley for medical reasons, the second highly ranked player who had to pull out of the season’s third event and first on the mainland.

Scottie Scheffler withdrew last week, which was not a surprise as the world’s No. 1 player recovers from minor surgery to his right hand that was punctured by glass while preparing Christmas dinner.

Schauffele’s manager said in a text message the No. 2 player in the world withdrew for a medical reason, though there were no additional details.

The event in La Quinta — title sponsored by American Express — starts Thursday on three courses. Former U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, at No. 7, is now the only player from the top 10 scheduled to play.

COLLEGES

Stressing his own organization’s ability to pay out $1.2 billion over 10 years to help settle an industry-changing lawsuit, NCAA President Charlie Baker urged Congress to pass legislation that could put college sports on a better path.

“When I took this job, the message I heard from Congress was clear — fix what you control first,” Baker said in his speech at the NCAA’s annual convention in Nashville, Tenn. “Since then, we have modernized college sports to meet the needs of today’s student-athletes. But we can’t solve every threat we face alone.”

Baker wants Congress to deal with three issues:

1. Eliminate the costly possibility of athletes becoming employees of schools. In the past two weeks, advocates and players at USC and Dartmouth withdrew court cases against the NCAA that could have led to unions and employment status.

2. Replace more than 30 state laws with one federal statute to govern the entire college sports enterprise.

3. Protect the NCAA from lawsuits, the likes of which are currently taking place over eligibility issues, via some form of antitrust protection.

“The threats come from endless litigation,” said Baker, who referenced his work in shaping health-care policy as governor of Massachusetts. “I’ve been around a lot of litigation. Nothing like this.”

Baker might get his wish.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is chair of the Senate Commerce Committee and has said legislation to help the NCAA regulate college sports is a priority of his.

“College sports is in crisis right now,” Cruz recently told ESPN. “If Congress doesn’t act, we risk seeing devastation.”

Texas junior wide receiver Isaiah Bond announced he will enter the NFL draft, becoming the latest Longhorns underclassman to leave the program after reaching the semifinals of the College Football Playoff.

Bond transferred from Alabama this season and had 34 catches for 540 yards and five touchdowns for Texas, which reached the CFP for the second consecutive year. But he also struggled with an ankle injury and his production fell off sharply over the second half of the season. He had four catches for 57 yards and no touchdowns over his final five games and missed Texas’ playoff win over Clemson.

Bond is the fourth Longhorns junior to declare for the draft, joining offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., wide receiver Matthew Golden and running back Jaydon Blue.

FIGURE SKATING

World silver medalist Isabeau Levito withdrew from next week’s U.S. Figure Skating championships because of a foot injury, putting the Olympic hopeful’s chances of participating in the world championships in question.

Levito has not competed since placing third at Skate America in October. She withdrew from her second Grand Prix event at the Finlandia Trophy in November, and that prevented her from having a chance to skate at the Grand Prix Final.

“I am heartbroken to say that I won’t be able to compete at nationals this year due to a foot injury,” said Levito, who won the title two years ago and was third last year. “This is not at all how I envisioned my season but I want to make sure I recover and come back fully without pain or limitations.”

Ava Ziegler and Clare Seo withdrew earlier this month.

Levito, 17, who has finished on the podium in each of her Grand Prix assignments over the past three years, has long been considered one of the top U.S. medal hopefuls for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.

Levito could petition U.S. Figure Skating for a spot on the team that will compete at worlds in March in Boston. She has a strong case given her bronze medal at Skate America and medals at the lower-level Cranberry Cup and Nebelhorn Trophy.

WNBA

New York’s Breanna Stewart was one of a handful of players given the franchise tag by their WNBA teams, meaning they can’t sign a contract directly with anyone else.

Other players receiving the franchise player designation include Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas), Satou Sabally (Dallas) and Gabby Williams (Seattle).

Teams have until Monday — the day before players and teams can begin negotiating — to offer core designations to eligible players. By coring a player, the team gives them a one-year qualifying offer at the WNBA’s maximum salary of $249,244. It prevents the player from signing with another team as a free agent.

Stewart helped bring the Liberty their first WNBA championship last fall and the franchise tag was not a surprise. She planned on returning to the team.

WINTER SPORTS

Swiss skier Camille Rast earned the second World Cup victory of her breakthrough season, leading teammate Wendy Holdener for a Swiss 1-2 finish in a night slalom in Flachau, Austria.

The result pushed Rast back to the top of both the slalom and overall season standings.

With injured slalom stars Mikaela Shiffrin and Petra Vlhova missing, Rast had a frenetic final run to improve from eighth position and beat runner-up Holdener by 0.16 seconds.

Rast became the first skier other than Shiffrin or Vlhova to win the annual floodlit race since Frida Hansdotter triumphed in 2017.