What is sports massage sports massage is a systematic manipulation of the soft tissues of the body that focuses on muscles relevant to a particular sport runner paavo nurmi known as the 34flying finn 34 was one of the early users of sports massage nurmi is said to have used sports massage during the 1924 olympics in paris where he won five gold medals in the united states jack meagher is thought to be the father of sports massage in the united states many different movements and