Ebbe Parsner was a 17 year-old employee at the shipping and logistics company Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab when he was recruited to join the firm’s rowing squad. He began his career as a single sculler and was the Danish national champion in this event from 1946 through 1948, but eventually teamed up with Aage Larsen and captured the double sculls title in 1948. This victory earned them a trip to that year’s Summer Olympics where, as favorites, they were defeated by Great Britain’s Dickie Burnell and Bert Bushnell in the final and settled for silver. Parsner and Larsen found continued success nationally and internationally, however, winning Danish and European titles, as well as the Double Sculls Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta, in 1949 and 1950. The duo attended the Olympics for a second time in 1952, but were eliminated in the round one repêchage.
Following his retirement from active competition, Parsner turned to sports administration and served as co-founder and chairman of the Olympisk Klub. He also held executive positions with the Århus Roklub, Birkerød Roklub, and the Sorø Roklub, and was editor of his nation’s “Roning” (“Rowing”) magazine from 1951 through 1954. A Danish naval veteran of World War II, Parsner later worked in sales for General Motors and British Petroleum.
Denmark