Alexis Vastine
Alexis Vastine in 2008
Personal information
Born(1986-11-17)17 November 1986
Pont-Audemer, France
Died9 March 2015(2015-03-09) (aged 28)
Villa Castelli, La Rioja, Argentina
Height1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Medal record
Men's boxing
Representing  France
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Beijing Light Welterweight
European Amateur Championships
Silver medal – second place 2010 Moscow Welterweight
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal – first place 2009 Pescara Light Welterweight

Alexis Vastine (17 November 1986 – 9 March 2015) was a French boxer who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the Light Welterweight division. He also competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics, 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 Dropped for the TF1 network.[1]

Career

At the 2004 junior world championships, Vastine was knocked out by Amir Khan at lightweight and won bronze.

At the 2007 senior world championships in Chicago, he was outpointed by Bradley Saunders at junior welter but qualified for the Olympics.

At the 2008 Olympics, Vastine reached the semifinal where he faced Manuel Félix Díaz from the Dominican Republic. 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 reported:

Vastine was robbed of his place in the final as he went down 12–10 due to a pair of two-point penalties. Vastine, who stood a full seven inches over his opponent, was largely in control throughout but was harshly penalised for pushing his opponent down, not just once but twice. Diaz was also fortunate to score on a number of wild haymakers that didn't look to have connected cleanly.[2]

The Agence France-Presse described the referee's ruling as "controversial".[3][4] Diaz, however, went on to win the gold medal.[5]

Vastine went on to suffer what was widely seen as an unjust decision[6] at the 2012 Olympics in London, where he drew on points but lost on countback to top-seeded welterweight Taras Shelestyuk of Ukraine in the quarter-finals, thus missing out on a medal.

Olympic games results

2008 (as a Light welterweight)

2012 (as a Welterweight)

World amateur championships results

2007 (as a Light welterweight)

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 helicopters collided in mid-air during filming in northwestern Argentina.[7][8] His 20-year-old sister Céline, also an amateur boxer, had been killed in a car accident in France just two months before.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "French Olympians filming reality TV survival show killed in helicopter crash in Argentina". Telegraph.co.uk. 10 March 2015.
  2. ↑ "Only bronze medal for French Alexis Vastine" Archived 2008-08-28 at the Wayback Machine, France 24, 22 August 2008
  3. ↑ "Judging scandal rocks Olympic boxing competition" Archived 29 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine, AFP, 23 August 2008
  4. ↑ "French cry foul over Vastine controversy" Archived 27 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine, AFP, 22 August 2008
  5. ↑ "Felic Diaz wins first Olympic boxing gold for Dominican Republic" Archived 16 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine, AFP, 24 August 2008
  6. ↑ French boxer Vastine rages after defeat BBC News 8 August 2012
  7. ↑ Camille Muffat, Olympic gold medallist, among 10 dead in helicopter crash
  8. ↑ Telegraph. 10 March 2015
  9. ↑ Alexis Vastine : Mort de sa soeur Célie, 21 ans, le sort s'acharne sur le boxeur
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