Géo Chavez

Although entered at the 1908 Olympics in the 400 metres, Géo Chavez never ran at the Olympics, but later achieved fame as a pioneer in the early days of aviation. Chavez was born in Paris to Peruvian parents, graduating from the Violet School with an engineering degree in 1908.

He attended an aviation school started by Henry and Maurice Farman, and received his pilot’s license in 1910. In August 1910 Chavez established an altitude record of 1,647 metres while flying to Blackpool, England. The next month he improved that to 2,700 metres over the city of Issy, France.

On 23 September 1910 Chavez took off from Ried-Brig in Switzerland attempting the first aerial crossing of the Alps. He made the crossing but his plane, the Blériot XI, had been damaged by heavy winds during the flight, and he crashed on landing and was killed. He was posthumously given Olympic Diploma of Merit #10 for his feats.

Chavez became a hero in Peru. He was buried in France, but his remains were exhumed and expatriated to Peru in 1957. The Lima International Airport was named in his honor and a life-size replica of the Blériot XI is displayed at the main terminal. He was also very popular in France and the city of Paris named a street in his honor in the 20e arrondissement.