Massilais fenced for
San Jose State University. A reserve for the
1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, he was set to make his Olympic début at the
Moscow Games in 1980, but did not compete due to the 66-team
boycott of the games. He was one of 461 athletes to receive a
Congressional Gold Medal the same year. He competed at the
1984 and
1988 Summer Olympics. Massialas also competed at the 1979, 1983, and 1987
Pan American Games, winning four medals, two silvers and two bronzes in foil fencing. He is the founder and head coach of the Massialas Foundation (MTEAM), a fencing club in San Francisco. Since 2012 he is the national coach of the United States senior foil team, which includes his own son
Alexander. He brought the club to a No.1 world ranking, with each of its four members ranking individually in the Top 10 and
Miles Chamley-Watson winning the
2013 World Fencing Championships. Massialas' daughter
Sabrina, now a senior, is also a high-level
foil fencer. ==See also==