Karl Alfred "Kalle" Ebb (5 September 1896 – 2 August 1988) was an athlete and racing driver. He represented Finland at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

and was Finland's first internationally successful driver. Born in

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

, he gained selection for Finland at the 1924 Summer Olympics. He competed in the

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually Abbreviation, abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase (athletics), steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 met ...

and placed fifth, while his more celebrated compatriots

Ville Ritola Vilho "Ville" Eino Ritola (18 January 1896 – 24 April 1982) was a Finnish long-distance runner. Known as one of the " Flying Finns", he won five Olympic gold medals and three Olympic silver medals in the 1920s. He holds the record of winning ...

and Elias Katz took the top two spots. He was a versatile athlete and competed nationally in numerous disciplines, including

cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

, and

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...

.The Golden Era of Drivers
. Kolumbus. Retrieved on 14 April 2016. In his thirties he began to compete in top level

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

an motor races, driving a

Mercedes-Benz SSK The Mercedes-Benz SSK (W06) is a roadster built by German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz between 1928 and 1932. The name is an abbreviation of ''Super Sport Kurz'', German for "Super Sport Short", as it was a short wheelbase development o ...

. His best results included wins at the 1931

Swedish Winter Grand Prix The Swedish Winter Grand Prix was a race held on the ice of frozen lakes, similar to races held in Estonia, Finland and Norway. The 1930s also saw the Swedish Summer Grand Prix, which can be seen as a predecessor of the Swedish Grand Prix, which w ...

, the Eläintarhan ajot in 1933 and 1935,ELAINTARHA
. Kolumbus. Retrieved on 14 April 2016. the 1935

Estonian Grand Prix The Estonian Grand Prix was a auto racing, motor race. Mostly held for motorcycles, three times it was held for cars in the period between the World Wars. The race was established on a road course held between the villages of Pirita and Kose, nea ...

, and a runner-up finish to Per Victor Widengren at the 1935 Norwegian Grand Prix. He was the first Finnish driver to have success at international level. He founded the Finnish Slalom Association in 1941. He was also a businessman, forming a company with his first wife, Lempi Järvinen, which sold men's ties. The couple had a son, Heimo, who later died in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Ebb remarried later in his life to Märtha Charlotte Reikko. He resided in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

during much of his life and died there in 1988. Kalle Ebb
. Historic Racing. Retrieved on 14 April 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ebb, Karl 1896 births 1988 deaths Athletes from Turku Finnish racing drivers Finnish male steeplechase runners Olympic athletes for Finland Athletes (track and field) at the 1924 Summer Olympics Grand Prix drivers