Athens 1896. Games of the I Olympiad. French compatriot cyclists Léon FLAMENG and Paul MASSON. Between them they won 6 medals in the track cycling events (gold in the 100km, silver in the 10 km and bronze in the sprint events for FLAMENG; three times gold in the 10km, 1km and sprint events for MASSON). Credit: IOC Olympic Museum Collections/MEYER Albert

Born: 30 November 1874

Deceased: 30 November 1944

Birthplace: Not available

Nationality: France

Sport: Cycling

ATTENDANCE AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES

Athens 1896

AWARDS

Olympic medals:

Gold: 3

Other results:

World Championships

Bronze : 1 (1897)

Cycling Champion and Pioneer

Born in 1874, Frenchman Paul Masson won three of the six cycling events (1km time trial, 10km track race, 1,000m sprint) at the inaugural 1896 Olympics. After the Athens Games, he turned professional and changed his name to Paul Nossam (Masson spelled backwards). He placed third in the world professional sprint championship in 1897.