Julio César León was already a Venezuelan national cycling champion as a teenager, having won titles from 1940 through 1942 and represented his country abroad. He would have to wait until after World War II to attend the Olympics, but when he travelled to the 1948 London Games, he became the first Venezuelan (aside from art competitor Alberto Egea) to compete at the Olympics. In the sprint, he lost his round one heat to Clodomiro Cortoni of Argentina, but then defeated Compton Gonsalves of Trinidad and Tobago in the repêchage to advance. In round two, however, he was eliminated by upcoming gold medalist Mario Ghella of Italy. In the 1,000 metres time trial, León placed 14th among 21 competitors.
León had earlier competed at the 1947 World Championships and continued to represent Venezuela abroad for many years. The highlight of his career did not come until 1959, when he took gold in the 1,000 metres time trial and silver in the sprint at the Central American and Caribbean Games. By career he held an engineering degree from the Universidad Central de Venezuela and worked in that field.
Venezuela