[3] Paine was a member of the Boston Athletic Association, the association were sending over members to Athens for the 1896 Summer Olympics, Paine decided to go along but first stopped in Paris to convince his brother Sumner to join him.

Both of the Paines used Colt revolvers, firearms that were far superior to those used by their opponents in the 25 metre military pistol event, John won the event easily, scoring 442 points on 25 hits out of 30 shots, Sumner was not far behind, at 380 points on 23 hits; the third-place finisher, the Greek Nikolaos Morakis, scored only 205 points.

[5] Paine then withdrew from the 30 metre free pistol event, citing his desire to not embarrass his Greek hosts.

After the Olympics, Paine went on to serve in the Spanish–American War before returning to Boston, Massachusetts, and becoming a wealthy investment banker.

[1] Paine is also the great-grandfather of Cécile Tucker who competed in 1996 Summer Olympics in a rowing event.