As an amateur Swiss cyclist Kurt Ott won the 1934 edition of the Tour du Lac Léman, a one-day race around Lake Geneva. One year later Ott finished eighth in the amateur road race at the World Championship in Belgium to earn him a place on the Olympic team. At the 1936 Berlin Games he finished 14th in the road race, with his overall position helping to win the silver medal for Switzerland in the team race.
Ott continued to have consistent results, finishing second in the national cross-country championships in 1937 before winning the title the following year. In 1938 he also finished 12th in the Milan–San Remo one-day race.
Switzerland