Olympic gold medalist Camille Muffat had retired from swimming to focus on her personal life, boxer Alexis Vastine had some unfinished business after two disappointing Olympics, and the beloved sailor Florence Arthaud was a pioneer for women in her sport.
The three athletes were among 10 people who died as two helicopters filming a reality show crashed in a remote part of Argentina on Monday.
As France awoke to the news, the country's political leaders and best-known sportsfigures registered their shock and expressed their condolences on television and social media.
The French sports daily l'Equipe's website carried a picture of Muffat holding her gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle at the 2012 london Olympics alongside the words, “French Sport in Mourning.”
French President Francois Hollande spoke of his “immense sadness,” while the secretary of state for sport, Thierry Braillard, said, “French sport has lost three stars.”
The helicopters apparently collided in mid-air in la Rioja province, about 730 miles northwest of Buenos Aires. Eight of those killed were French, the other two were Argentine. Authorities were at the scene of the crash late Monday trying to determine its cause. “The world of sport and the Olympic family have lost three of their key members,” IOC President Thomas Bach said, adding that the athletes “were all not only champions in their sport but also contributed greatly as role models.”
The Olympic flag will be flown at half-staff for three days at International Olympic Committee headquarters.
Muffat, who was 25, also won a silver medal in the 200 freestyle and a bronze in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay at the london Games. She retired last year.
Vasteine, the boxer, won a bronze medal at the 2008 Games in Beijing after a controversial loss to Manuel Felix Diaz of the Dominican Republic in the semifinals. Vastine was ahead in the bout, but was docked points by the referee in the final round. He broke down in tears after the defeat.
Arthaud, who was 57, was a pioneer in sailing. In 1990, she became the first woman to win the famed Route du Rhum race — a trans-Atlantic single-handed yacht race between Brittany and the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe — on her boat Pierre 1er.