Indiv. podiums 76 Name Matti Nykanen | Seasons 1981–1991 Role Olympic athlete Individual wins 46 Height 1.77 m | |
 | ||
Born 17 July 1963 (age 61) Jyvaskyla, Finland ( 1963-07-17 ) Spouse Mervi Tapola (m. 2004), Mervi Tapola (m. 2001–2003) Children Sami Nykanen, Eveliina Nykanen Similar People Jens Weisflog, Janne Ahonen, Jari Puikkonen, Pavel Ploc, Ari‑Pekka Nikkola | ||
1988 olympics large hill matti nyk nen
Matti Ensio Nykänen ( pronunciation ) (born 17 July 1963) is a Finnish former ski jumper who competed from 1981 to 1991. Widely considered to be the greatest male ski jumper of all time, Nykänen won five Winter Olympic medals (four gold), nine World Championship medals (five gold) and 22 Finnish Championship medals (13 gold). Most notably, he won three gold medals at the 1988 Winter Olympics, becoming, along with Yvonne van Gennip of the Netherlands, the most successful athlete at that event. Nykänen is the only ski jumper in history to have won all five of the sport's major events: a gold medal at the Winter Olympics (three times), the Ski Jumping World Championships (once), the Ski Flying World Championships (once), four World Cup titles, and the Four Hills Tournament (twice). His four World Cup titles is an all-time record shared with Adam Małysz and Sara Takanashi.
Contents
- 1988 olympics large hill matti nyk nen
- 1984 olympic large hill matti nyk nen
- Ski jumping career
- Personal life
- Relationship with Mervi Tapola
- Assault incident
- As an entertainer
- In popular culture
- Discography
- Biographies
- Books
- Songs
- References
Since the 1990s, Nykänen's status as a celebrity has mainly been fueled by his colourful personal relationships, his career as a pop singer, and various incidents often related to heavy use of alcohol and violent behavior. He was sentenced to jail for 26 months following a stabbing incident in 2004, and again for 16 months after aggravated assault on his wife in 2009.
1984 olympic large hill matti nyk nen
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 the time. He was also the first ever to win gold medals on both hills at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. In 1985 he flew 191 metres in Planica, a world record that stood briefly until Piotr Fijas (Poland) flew 194 metres, again in Planica, in 1987. His other achievements include a total of nine medals (five golds) at the World Championship level. He also won a total of 46 World Cup competitions (Only topped by record-holder Gregor Schlierenzauer, Austria) 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).
On 28 February 2008, he won the International Masters Championship, the world title for veterans.
Personal life
Nykänen has been married several times:
Relationship with Mervi Tapola
Nykänen met millionaire sausage heiress Mervi Tapola in 1999, and they were married from 2001 to 2003. They were divorced in 2003, and remarried in 2004. This marriage was tempestuous and gave rise to many well-publicised incidents: The first reported assault against Tapola occurred in June 2000, following which a restraining order was imposed upon Nykänen. 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 exercised her right to remain silent.
In September 2005, while on probation for another assault, Nykänen 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. In the summer of 2009 Tapola (then Tapola-Nykänen) petitioned for divorce a 14th time, but cancelled it.
On Christmas Day 2009 Nykänen allegedly injured his wife with a knife and tried to throttle her with a bathrobe belt. He was charged for attempted manslaughter and held in custody by Tampere police, but was released on 28 December after charges were dropped for insufficient evidence. On 24 August 2010 Nykänen was convicted of grievous bodily harm and sentenced to 16 months in jail and ordered to pay 5,000 euros in compensation to his wife for pain and emotional suffering, and 3,000 euros for legal expenses. In August 2010 Tapola made a 15th request for divorce.
Assault incident
On 24 August 2004, Matti Nykänen was arrested on suspicion of attempted manslaughter of a family friend after losing a finger pulling competition in Tottijärvi, Nokia. He was found guilty of aggravated assault and sentenced to a 26-month jail term in October 2004. As it was a first offence, he was released from jail in September 2005.
As an entertainer
When Nykänen's ski jumping career was drawing to a close, a group of businessmen proposed to make him a singer. His first album Yllätysten yö was released in 1992 and sold over 25,000 copies. Nykänen became the second Olympic gold medalist after Tapio Rautavaara to be awarded a golden record in Finland. The next album Samurai (1993) was not as successful.
At the end of the 1990s, due to serious financial problems, Nykänen worked as a stripper in a Järvenpää restaurant. The restaurateur was reproached for exploitation of Nykänen.
In 2002 Nykänen made a comeback as a singer and released the single "Ehkä otin, ehkä en". He also gave his name to a cider brand with the same advertisement slogan. In 2006 Nykänen released his third studio album Ehkä otin, ehkä en. Most of his musical career Nykänen has worked with professional musician Jussi Niemi. Nykänen has toured Finland performing 2 to 3 times a week with the Samurai ensemble led by Niemi.
Many of Nykänen's singles are named after some (in)famous quotes by Nykänen, such as Elämä on laiffii ('Life is life'), Jokainen tsäänssi on mahdollisuus ('Every chance is a possibility'), and Ehkä otin, ehkä en ('Maybe I did [drink], maybe I didn't').
In November 2009 Nykänen began to present his own cooking web series Mattihan se sopan keitti.
In popular culture
Discography
Biographies
Books
Songs
Ehkä otin - ehkä enEhkä otin - ehkä en · 2006
Elämä on laiffiiEhkä otin - ehkä en · 2006
Mäkikotka ja häkkilintuEhkä otin - ehkä en · 2006