Alexis Vastine (17 November 1986 – 9 March 2015) was a French boxer who won a bronze medal at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

in the Light Welterweight division. He also competed in the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, where he was eliminated in the quarterfinals in a controversial decision. He died in the Villa Castelli helicopter collision during the filming of French TV

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

'' Dropped'' for the

TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...

network.

Career

At the 2004 junior world championships, Vastine was knocked out by Britain's Amir Khan at lightweight and won bronze. At the 2007 senior world championships in Chicago, he was outpointed by Britain's Bradley Saunders at junior welter but qualified for the Olympics. At the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

, Vastine reached the semifinal where he faced

Manuel Félix Díaz Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name), a given name and surname * Manuel (''Fawlty Towers''), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manuel I of Portugal, king of Po ...

from the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. With Vastine leading by two in the final round, the Dominican fighter made a comeback and won the fight. Vastine lost the match by two points after being penalised twice by the referee, having four points deducted from his score.

France 24 France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned publicly funded international news television network based in Paris. Its channels, broadcast in French, English, Arabic and Spanish, are aimed at the overseas market. Based in the Paris suburb ...

reported: The

Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (; AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. With 2,400 employees of 100 nationalities, AFP has an editorial presence in 260 c ...

described the referee's ruling as "controversial". Diaz, however, went on to win the gold medal. Vastine went on to suffer what was widely seen as an unjust decision at the 2012 Olympics in London, where he drew on points but lost on countback to top-seeded welterweight

Taras Shelestyuk Taras Oleksandrovych Shelestyuk (; born 30 November 1985) is a Ukrainian undefeated professional boxer. His professional record 19-0-1 with 11 knockouts. He trained by legendary boxing trainer Freddie Roach from 2013 to 2015. Taras Shelestyuk w ...

of Ukraine in the quarter-finals, thus missing out on a medal.

Olympic games results

2008 (as a Light welterweight) *Defeated

Egidijus Kavaliauskas Egidijus Kavaliauskas (born June 29, 1988) is a Lithuanian professional boxer. As an Amateur boxing, amateur, he represented Lithuania at the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012 Olympic Games, and won a bronze medal at the ...

(Lithuania) 13–2 *Defeated Bradley Saunders (Great Britain) 11–7 *Defeated Uranchimegiin Mönkh-Erdene (Mongolia) 12–4 *Lost to

(Dominican Republic) 10–12 2012 (as a Welterweight) *Defeated Patrick Wojcicki (Germany) 16-12 *Defeated Byambyn Tüvshinbat (Mongolia) 13-12 *Lost to

(Ukraine) 18+-18

World amateur championships results

2007 (as a Light welterweight) *Defeated

Dilshod Mahmudov Dilshod Mahmudov (Дильшод Махмудов; born November 30, 1982) is a retired professional Boxing, boxer from Uzbekistan who won several medals in international tournaments. Career Formally of Uzbekistan, Dilshod Mahmudov is now base ...

(Uzbekistan) 28–27 *Defeated Edward Akora (Uganda) RSCO 3 *Defeated Vasili Belous (Moldava) 27–10 *Lost to Bradley Saunders (England) 13–30

Death

On 9 March 2015, as part of a group of French sports stars participating in a reality TV show called '' Dropped'', Vastine was one of 10 people who died when two helicopters collided mid-air during filming near Villa Castelli in northwestern Argentina. His 20-year-old sister Céline, also an amateur boxer who won an Olympic medal, had been killed in a car accident in France just two months before.

References

External links

2004 results
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vastine, Alexis 1986 births 2015 deaths French people of Russian descent Light-welterweight boxers Boxers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for France Olympic bronze medalists for France Olympic medalists in boxing Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics French male boxers People with mood disorders Sportspeople from Eure Victims of helicopter accidents or incidents Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Argentina Victims of mid-air collisions Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Mediterranean Games gold medalists for France Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 2009 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in boxing Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2015 21st-century French sportsmen