[2] Chandon spoke five languages, had a second degree black belt in Taekwondo, and was a race car driver and skydiver.
[4] A graduate of Le Rosey in Switzerland, he served in the French Air Force and later moved to New York City.
Earlier, he began racing cars in Europe at age 18, whereby he assumed the shortened name of Olivier Chandon.
[2] On 2 March 1983, Chandon, a member of the New York-based Fred Opert Racing Team, was killed while driving a Ralt race car in a private practice session at Moroso Motorsports Park in West Palm Beach, Florida, while preparing for the upcoming Formula Atlantic season.
[4] Travelling over 100 miles per hour, Chandon's vehicle crashed through a barrier, fell into a canal and landed upside down, where he was pinned in his car at the feet and drowned in an otherwise survivable accident.