Matti Olin

Matti Olin
Born1948 (1948)
NationalityFinnish
Career history
Great Britain
1974Coventry Bees
Individual honours
1967, 1968, 1971
1972, 1973		Finnish champion

Matti Olin (born 1948) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Finland. He was the champion of Finland on a five occasions[1] and earned 7 international caps for the Finland national speedway team.[2]

Biography

Olin, born in 1948, earned his reputation riding in Finland and won the Finnish Individual Speedway Championship on a five occasions in 1967, 1968, 1971, 1972 and 1973.[1] Olin regularly qualified for the Speedway World Championship Nordic final round.[3]

He only rode one season in the United Kingdom, riding for Coventry Bees during the 1974 British League season.[4][5][6] He had been recommended to Coventry promoter Charles Ochiltree by Olle Nygren in April 1974.[7] For a debut season in Britain he averaged a respectable 5.69 over 21 meetings[8] but returned home to Finland following a family bereavement and would never ride in British leagues again, choosing to look after his father's motor cycle business.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b "Speedway Individual Finnish Championship". Speedway Sanomat. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  2. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  3. ^ "Glory chance for Olin". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 3 August 1974. Retrieved 11 February 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "Around the tracks". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 27 March 1976. Retrieved 6 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "1974 season" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Matti Olin". WWOS backup. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Speedway by Don Clarke". Sunday Mirror. 14 April 1974. Retrieved 11 February 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  9. ^ "Bees call on Adlington and guests". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 19 July 1974. Retrieved 11 February 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.