Finn Pedersen was one of the most successful Danish rowers in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Pedersen won his first international medal at the 1947 European Championships, where he won a coxed pairs bronze with Tage Henriksen and cox Carl-Ebbe Andersen. At the 1948 Olympics, the same Danish crew surprised everyone by winning the coxed pairs gold medal, despite finishing second in their first round heat. After Henriksen and Andersen retired, Pedersen continued rowing and, by then paired with Kjeld Østrøm, won the 1954 European coxless pairs title, while taking bronze at the 1953 European Championships. Pedersen and Østrøm also competed at the 1956 Olympics, but were eliminated in the semifinals. Domestically, Pedersen, who represented Roskilde Roklub, won seven Danish titles – 1947 and 1948 in coxed pairs with Henriksen and Andersen, 1950 in coxed pairs with Kai Suhr and Andersen, and in 1952-54 and 1956 in coxless pairs with Østrøm. Later Pedersen served as chairman of Roskilde Roklub and in 1984 was appointed as an honorary member of the club.