Louis Richard Bruno Julie (born July 11, 1978), known as Bruno Julie, is a Mauritian bantamweight boxer who won a number of medals in international tournaments and competed in 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 ...

where he won the first-ever Olympic medal for the island nation of Mauritius.

Career

In his first major tournament, at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, Julie reached the quarter-finals. Four years later in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

he reached the final by defeating Botswana's Mmoloki Nogeng, losing only to Indian Akhil Kumar. He also finished second in the African Championships the same year. In 2007 Julie won the bronze medal at the

All-Africa Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, where he was beaten in the semi-final by local hero and eventual winner Abdelhalim Ouradi. At the 2007 World Championships he beat

Orzubek Shayimov Orzubek Shayimov is an Uzbekistani boxer who competes as a bantamweight. At 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 ...

but lost to Englishman Joseph Murray. Also in 2007, Julie won gold medals at the Commonwealth Championships in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and at the

African Championships An African Championship is a top level international sports competition between Africa, African athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports club, sports clubs. List of championships ;Athletics * African ...

Antananarivo Antananarivo (Malagasy language, Malagasy: ; French language, French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known ...

. He won a further gold medal at the African Cup of Nations in his native country and clinched his second gold medal at the Indian Ocean Games in

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

, four years after his first one in Mauritius. Julie qualified for the

2008 Olympic Games 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 ...

in the second qualifier by defeating Emilian Polino, despite losing the final to Issa Samir. On August 18, 2008, Bruno Julie made history by winning his quarter-final in the 54 kg bantamweight class, therefore guaranteeing himself at least a bronze medal. In doing so Julie became the first ever Olympic medalist for

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

. He was narrowly defeated by Yankiel León of

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

5-7 on the semi-final bout. After winning the first-ever Olympic medal for the island of

, Bruno Julie got propositions from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He confirmed this after his return to Mauritius. He said that he won this medal for all Mauritians and that he heard shouting 'Bruno Bruno' every time he was on the ring at Beijing. Mauritian fans have nicknamed Julie as the Mauritian Magician and the Creol Crusher. He competed in the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...

under the name of ''Louis Julie''. On October 10, 2010 he defeated the favored player of this competition, Indian Akhil Kumar, the gold medalist of the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

, to proceed to the semi-finals assuring

a medal. Thus, Bruno Julie became the favored player of the

as he had won the silver medal in the

and defeated Akhil Kumar. Unfortunately, he was knocked out in the semi-finals, gaining only a Bronze medal.

Commonwealth results

2006 (as a bantamweight) (as Louis Richard Bruno Julie) *Defeated Immanuel Naidjala (Namibia) 26-10 *Defeated Abid Ali (Pakistan) 27-13 *Defeated Matthew Edmonds (Wales) 21-8 *Defeated Mmoloki Nogeng (Botswana) 21-10 *Lost to Akhil Kumar (India) 12-20 2010 (as a bantamweight) (as Louis Julie) *Defeated

Taiwo Agbaje Taiwo (variant forms: Taiye, Taye, Taiyewo) is a name of Yoruba people, Yoruba origin meaning "the first twin to taste the world" or the one who comes before Kehinde. Although Taiwo is the firstborn twin, in Yoruba belief Taiwo is considered the ...

(Nigeria) 9-4 *Defeated Revocatus Shomari (Tanzania) 12-1 *Defeated Akhil Kumar (India) 7-5 *Lost to Sean McGoldrick (Wales) 1-2

Olympic results

2008 (as a bantamweight) *Defeated Emanuel Thabiso Nketu (Lesotho) 17-8 *Defeated Khurshid Tadjibayev (Uzbekistan) 16-4 *Defeated Héctor Manzanilla (Venezuela) 13-9 *Lost to Yankiel León (Cuba) 5-7 This was the first medal Mauritius had ever won in the history of the Olympics.

World amateur championship results

2007 (as bantamweight) *Defeated Francisco Castillejo (Spain) RSCO 3 *Defeated

(Uzbekistan) 34-13 *Lost to Joe Murray (England) 19-26

References

External links