Matti Nykänen

Unfortunately for Nykänen, his personal life and relationships have become just as memorable among the public as his performance in World Cups and Olympic games. He has been married four times and has two children from his first and second wife. One of his most memorable marriages was that with Mervi Tapola in 2001.

The couple divorced, only to be remarried in 2004. During their marriage, many incidents of assault were reported against Tapola, putting Nykänen in the limelight for a less than favorable reason.

Even after that, he was arrested quite a few times for several counts of assault against different people. However, his image was tarnished even further in 2004 when he was arrested on suspicion of attempted manslaughter. The legal systems found him guilty of aggravated assault and he spent the next twenty-six months in jail. He was released early since it was only his first offense.

Nykänen was born on July 17th 1963 in Finland. The pro was introduced to ski jumping at an early age of eight and the sport has since then become a passion.

In 1981, when he was eighteen, he changed the direction of his career by taking home the gold in the ‘FIS Junior World Championships’ and then, months later, took home his first victory in the ‘World Cup’ championships. From that moment on, Nykänen was a force to be reckoned with.

During the early stages of his career, he was described as “untouchable” by many of his competitors. And that assessment only seemed to become even more fitting in 1984, when Matti won both the gold and silver medals during the ‘Winter Olympics’. He won his gold medal by a 17.5 lead, the largest in skiing history at that time.

In 1988, he became the first person to ever take gold medals on both hills at the competition, creating another record for himself. He won a total of three gold medals during the ‘Olympic Games’ that year, proving that he was a force to be reckoned with.

During the course of his career, he won a total of 46 ‘World Cup’ victories and continues to hold the record for men’s ski jumping. His personal best stands at 191 m, an impressive feat that few have come close to in the decades since Nykänen blazed his trail in the art of ski jumping.

In 1991, he officially retired but it was obvious that he’d left his mark on the skiing community. To this day, competitors and fans alike describe him as “genius” and look to him for inspiration and guidance.

During the course of his career, Nykänen won a total of five Olympic medals and competed in a total of 76 podiums.

In 1987, he was awarded the Holmenkollen Medal. This award is the highest award that Norway offers skiing competitors and signifies that recipients have high rankings in international competitions. He shares this honor with Hermann Weinbuch, a German skier.