Solothurn-native Paul Besson won his first freestyle wrestling Swiss title in 1945. Moving to Lausanne by 1947 where he joined the wrestling section of the Olympic-Club de Lausanne, Besson briefly lived in the nearby community of Aigle in the early 1950s before returning to Lausanne by 1952. While living in Lausanne, he was selected to represent his country at the Helsinki Olympics. There, he lost in the third round of the lightweight freestyle competition to Blondie Pienaar of South Africa. Besson continued to compete in national wrestling competitions through to the late 1950s.
Switzerland