A crossing of the English Channel in an Optimist at 12, an European 29er title at 16, a debut in the Figaro class at 17 and a first circuit victory to mark his 18th birthday, Tom Goron is proving to be a phenomenon of precocity in the world of competitive sailing. Between the Spi Ouest-France, which he won aboard PRB, and the Trophée BPGO he will race again with Nicolas Lunven (start on 18 April), Sailorz took a closer look at his profile.
Are we looking at Tom Goron a future François Gabart or Tom Laperche, other examples of early talent who have passed through the Figaro circuit over the past 20 years? The young sailor avoids the comparison, but admits he has been inspired by the former. “He’s the sailor I’ve always followed, he made me dream when I was a child”, he says.
The comparison doesn’t stop there, since, like the Vendée Globe 2012 winner, the man who will turn 20 on 10 May “grew up in it”, to use the words of Jeanne Grégoire, director of the Finistère training centre in Port-la-Forêt, which welcomed the prodigy before he was even of age. Between competing from the age of seven in Optimists and family cruises every summer on a Muscadet and the Kelt 29 owned by his father Nicolas, a former match racing specialist, Tom Goron quickly made the sea his playground – “François Gabart sailed across the Atlantic on a Kelt 39“, he jokes, closing the comparison.
“Tom even started at the age of two. We had a large garden with a pond near Dinan, where he sailed an Optimist”, says his father, an electro-technical teacher, who never prevented his youngest child (he has an older sister) from pursuing his passion—in fact quite the opposite. Proof? “One day at home, he came down from his room and said: ‘Dad, I saw a video of a girl who crossed the Channel in an Optimist, do you think I could do the same?’ We looked into it and organised the crossing.” The girl in question was none other than Violette Dorange, another precocious talent – “the only one with Tom we’ve welcomed at the centre while still a minor”, notes Jeanne Grégoire – who completed the crossing in 2016 at the age of 15. Tom Goron was… 12.
“Everything he has done,
he decided himself”
Two years later, he independently chose to join a sports-study programme at the Youth La Baule training centre for three years. “Everything he has done, he decided himself,” his father confirms. “I remember him at the Saint-Suliac sailing club near Saint-Malo, wondering which class he would choose for his sports-study programme. We visited several centres together during open days, but in the end, he chose La Baule, for the 29er and the coaching structure.”
He left three years later with a European title and his high school diploma, and with a clear ambition to move offshore rather than continue along the Olympic pathway. “I asked him why he didn’t continue in Olympic sailing, as he had excelled in the 29er,” says Nicolas Lunven, who this year brought Goron into his Figaro campaign. “His answer was very pragmatic and logical: he felt he didn’t have the physical build for the 49er or other Olympic classes he enjoyed, and above all, he didn’t see himself investing so much time with no guarantee of reaching the Olympics. He felt offshore racing would give him more room to express himself. At 17, he showed real clarity—that’s a sign of maturity.”
By chance, Navaleo-Les Recycleurs Bretons, who have supported him since 2017 and have already sponsored Figaro sailors (including Simon Troël), agreed to back him on the circuit. He then knocked on the door of the Finistère training centre. Jeanne Grégoire recalls: “Thomas Coville was there that day. He told me he had picked up a young guy on a scooter on the road because he thought it was dangerous, and when he asked where he was going, he said: ‘To the centre.’ That was Tom!” What convinced the centre to accept him at just 17? “His CV, his motivation because he came on his own, and recommendations. A year or two earlier, Matthieu Richard [former match racer, FFVoile technical advisor, Ed.] had called me saying: ‘I’ve got a young sailor coming into offshore racing—you’ll be hearing about him.’ But after that, it might have gone differently.”
Winning the Solitaire as an objective
Yet from his very first season in 2024, Goron stood out. “We quickly saw in training that he had full control of the boat,” confirms the centre director. Although he took “a few hits” in his early races (his own words), the young Breton quickly felt at home on the circuit, particularly in the Solitaire, which he finished 14th (3rd rookie). “It’s the race where I had the most fun—I discovered myself,” he says. 2025 marked his breakthrough, with second place in the Solo Guy Cotten, a win in the Solo Maître CoQ—which he celebrated on his 18th birthday—and 7th place in the Solitaire (including a second place in the final leg).
How can such rapid progress be explained? “I don’t really have an explanation,” says his father, “other than that in every sport he has tried—cycling, skateboarding—he has always shown huge determination, able to spend hours and hours repeating things and falling countless times until he succeeded.” Goron himself has his own view: “I think I learn quickly and I rarely make the same mistake twice. And above all, I’m very well surrounded. When you train every day at the centre with the best sailors like Basile (Bourgnon), Loïs (Berrehar) and others, you watch them, you copy a bit, and it helps you progress quickly.”
This year, he continues his development alongside Nicolas Lunven. “When I was planning the season last winter, I asked several people to suggest names for double-handed sailing. His name came up almost every time,” says the PRB skipper. He adds, after a partnership already validated (2nd in the Trophée Laura Vergne, victory in the Spi Ouest-France): “I was looking for someone who knows the Figaro 3 well. Tom has a dinghy mindset, very focused on sensations, reading the race in the moment, picking up small gains. He’s also very easy to work with—exactly what I needed.”
The duo will take on the Trophée Banque Populaire Grand Ouest (800 miles double-handed, start 18 April from Concarneau), before meeting again in May in competition at the Solitaire du Figaro Paprec. In his third participation, can Goron aim for a podium? “Last year he didn’t fully deliver because he switched off at the end of the first two legs, but I feel he’s extremely well prepared for it, especially sailing with Nico,” says Jeanne Grégoire. “The only downside is that he’s still chasing budget.” The sailor confirms: “I still don’t have a sponsor, so I may have to start in a very downgraded setup, I’m not sure I’ll be able to buy new sails.” A paradox for a sailor who is widely praised and already looking further ahead: “My big dream is to win the Solitaire, then there’s the Vendée Globe—I hope it will become a goal, maybe in 2032?”
Photo : Gilles Dedeurwaerder / Solo Guy Cotten
