Ernst Krebs (4 November 1906 – 20 July 1970) was a German sprint canoeist, born in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. At the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

, he won the gold medal in the K-1 10000 m event. This event took place on Friday 7 August 1936, at 5:10 pm. In total including himself, there were 15 participants representing 15 countries for the one-seater kayak race. Krebs won gold with a time of 46:01.6. The silver medal went to

Fritz Landertinger Fritz Landertinger (26 February 1914 – 18 January 1943) was an Austrian canoeist who competed in the late 1930s. He won the silver medal in the K-1 10000 m event at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. He was killed in action during Worl ...

, of Austria, with a time of 46.14.7 and the bronze medal went to Ernst Riedel, of the U.S.A., with a time of 47.23.9. The electric timing apparatus of the firm of Lòbner was used for time-keeping and there were four timekeepers at the finish line. Prior to and during his canoeing career, he was a competitive cross-country skier and won four German titles with the Bavarian 4x10 km relay at the Nordic Championships from 1928-1932. At the 1929

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships is a biennial nordic skiing event organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS). The World Championships was started in 1925 for men and opened for women's participation in 1954. World Championship e ...

, Krebs came eighth in an 18 km race. He was affiliated with the Kanu-Club der Turngemeinde München. In 1933, he won the European flatwater canoeing title in the K-1 over 10 km at the

Canoe Sprint European Championships The Canoe Sprint European Championships (or European Canoe Sprint Championships) is an international canoeing and kayaking event organized by the European Canoe Association (ECA). It was first held in 1933 in Prague under the auspices of the Inter ...

. He later qualified for the 1936 Olympics. Krebs was also a mountaineer and would often go to the Alps with Toni Schmid (who had the second successful climb up the

Matterhorn The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the ...

, alongside his brother Franz, in 1931). In 1932, Krebs survived a significant fall at the

Großes Wiesbachhorn The Großes Wiesbachhorn () is a mountain in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria and, at (according to other sources ), is the third-highest peak of the Hohe Tauern range. Its entirely free-standing firn-capped summit forms the main peak of t ...

whilst climbing. After his career in sports, he became a tinsmith. He died at age 63 in

Gauting Gauting is a municipality in the district of Starnberg, in Bavaria, Germany with a population of approximately 20,000. It is situated on the river Würm, southwest of Munich and is a part of the Munich metropolitan area. Geography Stockdorf, ...

, Germany after an accident, where he fell off a ladder whilst installing a gutter to the third floor of a house.

References

Databaseolympics.com profile
* * 1906 births 1970 deaths Sportspeople from Munich Canoeists at the 1936 Summer Olympics German male canoeists Olympic canoeists of Germany Olympic gold medalists for Germany Olympic medalists in canoeing Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics {{Germany-canoe-Olympic-medalist-stub