Jean-Max de Chavigny

Jean-Max de Chavigny was a French windsurfer from Martinique who spent eleven years on the French national team and represented France at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where he finished fifth in the men's Mistral One Design event. In Martinique he was remembered as one of the island's most accomplished sailors and as a figure who helped pass his passion for the sport on to younger generations.

He was born on 12 October 1965 in Schœlcher, on the Caribbean coast of Martinique, just outside Fort-de-France. He discovered windsurfing at the Cercle nautique de Schœlcher, the local sailing club, and the sport became the passion of his life. He went on to work at the club as an instructor, helping to coach and train young windsurfers.

Determined to improve and to measure himself against the best competitors, he left Martinique to pursue his sporting career in mainland France. He competed in his first European championship at only 17. At 22 he joined the French national team and began preparing for the Olympic Games, while also studying for his professional sports qualifications.

In 1992 he tried to qualify for the Barcelona Olympics but narrowly missed out in the French selection trials. He kept going. In 1994 he won the silver medal in the Mistral class at the Goodwill Games in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Two years later his persistence was rewarded with selection for the Atlanta Olympics, where he raced in the Mistral One Design board class against the world's leading specialists and finished fifth overall, the high point of his career. In all, he spent eleven years in the French team, representing his country in international competition.

Beyond his own results, he was valued in Martinique for his commitment to the Cercle nautique de Schœlcher and to young sailors, and his path from the beaches of Schœlcher to an Olympic final made him an example for the island's athletes.

Jean-Max de Chavigny died on Saturday 10 October 2026, two days before what would have been his 61st birthday. His death was reported by Martinique La 1ère, which described it as the loss of an emblematic figure of Martinican sailing. No cause of death was made public.