Matti Nykänen

Matti Nykänen
Personal information
Full name	Matti Ensio Nykänen
Date of birth	17 July 1963 (1963-07-17) (age 47)
Place of birth	Jyväskylä, Finland
Professional information
Personal best	191 m (Planica 1985)
World Cup
Seasons	1981–1991
Wins	46
Other podiums	30
Total podiums	76
Infobox last updated on: 24 April 2010

Matti Ensio Nykänen (pronunciation) (born 17 July 1963 in Jyväskylä, Finland) is a Finnish former ski jumper who won five Olympic medals (four gold), nine World championships medals (five gold) and 22 Finnish championships medals (13 gold). Nykänen is the only ski jumper in the world to have won both a gold medal in Olympic Games, World Championships and Ski flying World Championships and finished first in the overall World Cup and Four Hills Tournament.

Since the 1990s, however, his status as a celebrity has mainly been fueled, not by his sporting achievements, but instead by his colourful personal relationships, his career as a singer, and various incidents often related to heavy use of alcohol and violent behaviour. Nykänen has been in the headlines of tabloid newspapers more often than any other person in Finland. The latest episode was on Christmas Day 2009 - the alleged knife attack of his wife's head and hand, almost 10 years after his first assault on her.

Ski jumping career

For most of the 1980s Nykänen and Jens Weissflog of East Germany dominated the sport. Nykänen won gold and silver at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. His 17.5 point gold medal victory was the largest margin of victory in olympic ski jumping at that time. He was also the first ever to win gold medals on both hills at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. In 1986 he flew 191 metres in Planica, a world record which stood briefly until Piotr Fijas (Poland) flew 194 metres, again in Planica, in 1987. His other achievements include an impressive total of nine medals (five golds) at the World Championship level. He also won a total of 46 World Cup competitions (more than any other ski jumper) and won the overall title four times (also a record, currently shared with Adam Małysz POL). He won the prestigious Four Hills Tournament twice. He competed in the FIS Ski Flying World Championships five times and placed in the medals every time. Nykänen also won the ski jumping competition at the Holmenkollen ski festival twice (1982, 1987). In 1987, Nykänen was awarded the Holmenkollen medal (shared with Hermann Weinbuch).

In Autumn 2007 Matti Nykänen began practicing ski jump again after more than 10 years off from the sport. On 28 February 2008, he won the International Masters Championship, which is regarded as the world title for veterans.

Personal life

Nykänen's career combined genius with temperamental outbursts and capers. After his retirement from sport, his athletic genius remained a heroic memory in the minds of his countrymen, but continuing and widely publicized follies made him something of a national disgrace. Stories of domestic violence as both perpetrator and victim, multiple marriages and divorces, a career as a musical performer and even as a stripper guaranteed many kinds of publicity.

Nykänen has been married several times:

• Tiina Hassinen (1986–1988), one son^[1]
• Pia Hynninen (1989–1991), one daughter^[1]
• Sari Paanala (1996–1998)^[1] (Nykänen changed his surname to Paanala during this marriage^[2])
• Mervi Tapola (2001–2003)^[3]
• Mervi Tapola (2004-)^[3]

In the summer of 2009 Tapola (then Tapola-Nykänen) had a 14th requests for divorce, but again cancelled it^[4]

In November 2009 Nykänen began to present his own cookery web series Mattihan se sopan keitti.

Violence

Nykänen met millionaire sausage heiress Mervi Tapola in 1999^[1]. The first reported assault against Tapola occurred in June 2000. A restraining order^[3] was imposed upon him. In 2004, Nykänen was handed a suspended sentence for assaulting Tapola again. Nykänen had already been accused of assaulting Tapola in 2001, but the charges were withdrawn because Tapola employed her right to remain silent^[5]

On 24 August 2004, Matti Nykänen was arrested on suspicion of attempted manslaughter after the stabbing of a family friend after losing a finger pulling competition^[6] in Tottijärvi, Nokia^[7]. He was found guilty of aggravated assault and sentenced to a 26-month jail term in October 2004. As a it was a first offence, he was released from jail in September 2005. While on probation, he was re-arrested four days after his release for again abusing his partner. Nykänen was convicted again and imprisoned for four months on 16 March 2006. Soon after that he stabbed a man in a pizza restaurant in Korpilahti.^[5]

On Christmas Day 2009 Nykänen allegedly injured his wife with a knife and tried to throttle her with a bathrobe belt. After the incident the Tampere police put him in jail^[5]. Nykänen was released on 28 December after charges for attempted manslaughter were dropped and the police had insufficient grounds to keep him in custody. He will or could^[8] be tried for grievous bodily harm or illegal menace.^[9]

As an entertainer

When Nykänen's ski jumping career was drawing to a close a group of businessmen got on to him with a view to make him a singer. The first album Yllätysten yö was published in 1992 and sold over 25,000 copies ^[10]. Nykänen became the second Olympic gold medalist after Tapio Rautavaara to sell a golden record in Finland. The next album Samurai (1993) was not as successful.

At the end of 1990s Nykänen had bad financial problems and worked as a strip teaser in a Järvenpää restaurant. The restaurateur was reproached for exploitation of Nykänen.^[11]

In 2002 Nykänen made a comeback as a singer and released the single Ehkä otin, ehkä en. Also a Matti Nykänen cider brand with the same advertisement slogan was published^[12]. In 2006 Nykänen released his third studio album Ehkä otin, ehkä en^[13]. Most of his musical career Nykänen has worked with professional musician Jussi Niemi. Recently Nykänen has toured Finland performing 2 to 3 times a week with the Samurai ensemble led by Niemi^[14].

Discography

• Yllätysten yö (1992)
• Samurai (1993)
• Ehkä otin, ehkä en (2006)

Biographies

• A movie about the life of Matti Nykänen simply called Matti was released in 2006, with Finnish actor Jasper Pääkkönen cast as Nykänen. The movie concentrated on Nykänen's exploits beyond the ski-jumping hills.

Books

• Matti Nykänen, Päivi Ainasoja and Manu Syrjänen: Mattihan se sopan keitti (2007)^[15]
• Juha-Veli Jokinen: Missä me ollaan ja oonko mäkin siellä (2007)^[15]
• Juha-Veli Jokinen: Elämä on laiffii (2006)^[15]
• Kai Merilä: Matin ja minun rankka reissu (2005)^[15]
• Egon Theiner: Grüsse aus der Hölle (2004)^[15][16] (the English version of the book Greetings from Hell was published in January 2006)
• Matti Pulli: Voittohyppy (1999)^[15]
• Antti Arve: Matti Nykänen Maailman paras (1988)^[15]
• Kari Kyheröinen and Hannu Miettinen: Takalaudasta täysillä: Matti Nykäsen tie maailmanhuipulle (1984)^[15]

Quotes

Nykänen's (mostly unintentionally) hilarious answers to interviewers or talk-show hosts and other "aphorisms" are extreme forms of yogiisms. They have become extremely popular sayings in Finland.

Cultural references

• In 1988 DPR Korea issued a postage stamp depicting Matti Nykänen in the flight during competition.

References

• Matti Nykaenen at the International Ski Federation

Finnish

• Official website

Norwegian

• Holmenkollen medalists - click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file
• Holmenkollen winners since 1892 - click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file