Eino Kalpala took up skiing at the age of 11, but had to wait until after World War II for his career to get off the ground. At the 1952 Oslo Olympics, he represented Finland in three events – the slalom, giant slalom, and the downhill – with a best finish of 39th in slalom. He also competed at the 1958 World Championships, but did not win a medal. During this time, he was active in auto racing and he remained involved with both sports following his retirement from active competition. In the 1960s he founded a skiing center in Finland and he continued to compete at the masters’ level into his 80s, winning the slalom in the 80-84 category at the 2007 World Championships and coming in runner-up and fourth in the giant slalom and Super-G, respectively. For automobiles, he owned his own company that specialized in car radios and other electronics.
Finland