Summary

Matti Ensio Nykänen (born July 17, 1963 in Jyväskylä, died February 4, 2019 in Lappeenranta) is a Finnish ski jumper, representative of the Jyväskylän Hiihtoseura club, multiple medalist at the Olympic Games, World Championships and World Ski Flying Championships, ski coach. Considered the best ski jumper in history, he is also regarded by ski experts as the greatest talent in the history of the sport. From 1996 to 1998 he bore the name of Paanala.

He won the Olympic championship four times (three individual and one team championship), vice-championship - once. At the Nordic World Ski Championships, he won nine medals - one individual and four team gold, one individual silver, and two individual bronze and one team bronze. He also won five medals at the world ski flying championships (one gold and silver and three bronze each). He won the overall World Cup four times, where he won 46 competitions and stood on the podium 76 times. He triumphed twice in the Four Hills Tournament; he won the KOP Cup the same number of times. He triumphed at the Swiss Tournament and the Czech Tournament. In these highest-ranking winter sports competitions, he won 86 podium places (50 times first, 24 second and 12 third).

He won the world junior championship, twice triumphed in the veterans' world championships, thirteen-time Finnish champion (a total of twenty-two medals). Five times he set or equaled the world record in the length of the ski jump. Twice elected Athlete of the Year in Finland. Awarded the Hollmenkollen Medal.

Matti Pulli, Nykänen's coach, counted among his qualities "the character of an athlete who never gives up, a special ability to fly, passionate training and nerves of steel." Pulli attached more importance than other coaches to weight training, during which Nykänen used lead weights. While training, he was able to do 60 jumps a day. During his athletic career, he weighed 60 kg with a height of 174 cm. He jumped on skis made by Elan and Kneissl. In flight, he would turn his skis slightly to the right side, thus increasing the plane of flight. Toward his rivals he often remained arrogant, and did not establish a closer relationship with them.

He remains the only ski jumper in history to have individually won the World Cup at least once, a gold medal at the Olympic Games, World Championships, World Ski Flying Championships and won the Four Hills Tournament.

After his sports career, he became a singer, his first album achieving gold status. He also became a celebrity and the protagonist of many high-profile scandals involving alcohol abuse and aggressive behavior.

Nykänen made his first jump at the age of seven. On March 19, 1974, he competed in his first ever competition - he took first place in a children's competition on an eight-meter hill.

1980

He began his international career in January 1981 by competing in the World Cup competitions in Harrachov and Liberec. He was classified in them twice outside the top fifteen athletes, receiving points for the general classification.

In February, coach Hannu Lepistö called up Nykänen for the junior world championships held in Schonach im Schwarzwald, West Germany, despite outside criticism of the move. At the Langenwald hill, he posted jumps of 92m and 89m, which earned him the gold medal with a score of 264.7 points and a lead of 12.7 points over second-placed Austrian Ernst Vettori.

A month later, at his home hill Salpausselkä in Lahti, he appeared in the World Cup. In the first competition he placed sixth, and in the next competition he was second, losing to Jari Puikkonen, and stood on the World Cup podium for the first time in his career. He also took part in competitions in Falun and Oslo, where he was classified in the third ten competitors. At Holmenkollen he also jumped in the festival competition, finishing 28th. In the overall World Cup classification of the 1980 season

1981

Nykänen started the season by participating in the Four Hills Tournament. In the competition in Oberstdorf, he took his first victory in a World Cup event. His jumps of 109 m and 104.5 m earned him a score of 241.4 points. In the next competition, held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, he finished fifth and dropped to second place in the TCS overall standings, overtaken by Manfred Deckert. In the Austrian part of the Tournament he jumped less well: in Innsbruck he finished 32nd, and in Bischofshofen 37th. In the final ranking of the Tournament he was 11th, and in the World Cup series he was fifth.

At the end of February, the Nordic World Ski Championships, which counts for the World Cup classification, were held in Oslo. In the first competition, on the normal hill Midtstubakken, Nykänen finished fourth, losing 1.4 points to the bronze medal position. In the team competition on the large hill, the Finnish national team finished third with a score of 670.8, with Nykänen landing 92.5 m and 101.5 m at the time. In the second individual competition, held under difficult atmospheric conditions, he reached 108.5m and 102.5m, which earned him a score of 257.9 points and the world championship title.

The next two Cup competitions were held in Lahti. Nykänen placed fourth and second there. The last time he presented himself in World Cup competitions was at the Kulm mammoth hill in Tauplitz. At three competitions he took first, second and fifth positions, respectively. In the overall World Cup standings for the 1981 season

1982

In September's competition in Kandersteg, Switzerland, the Finn lost only to Olav Hansson and finished second.

At the European Cup competition in Raufoss in December, he was ninth, and in Lillehammer he was second. The first World Cup competition was held in Cortina d'Ampezzo. Nykänen won the competition with a jump of 87 meters, during which one round was held, and became the overall leader.

In the inaugural 31st Four Hills Tournament competition in Oberstdorf, he was second after jumping 113m and 114m. He was won by Canadian Horst Bulau. In the New Year's competition in Ga-Pa he placed fourth, together with his compatriot Puikkonen. In the Tournament standings, he reduced the loss to Bulau, who finished sixth in Garmisch, to 1.1 points. In Innsbruck, he won with jumps of 105m and 104m and became the new TCS leader. Nykänen finished seventh in the last competition of the German-Austrian event in Bischofshofen. This allowed him to win the Tournament with a lead of 17.6 points over second-placed Jens Weißflog from East Germany.

The next two World Cup competitions were held in Czechoslovakia. He was ninth in Harrachov on the large hill and fourth in Liberec. A week later, he won both competitions on the hill in Lake Placid, USA. In the first, which ended after one round of jumps, a distance of 124.5 meters was enough for him to win. A day later, he reached 120.5m and 108m. The competition then moved to Canada, where he finished seventh and first on the hills in Thunder Bay. In the second round of the second competition, he reached 125.5m. He continued to lead with a large points lead in the overall series standings (he accumulated 157 points, 46 points more than second-place Armin Kogler). In February, in Sarajevo, he took part in the pre-Olympic trials, finishing third and first in two competitions consecutively.

He again appeared in Cup competitions at the mammoth Vikersundbakken, where he won three competitions during one weekend. This feat was not repeated until 2007 in Planica by Adam Malysz. He finished second and first in the Swedish World Cup competitions in Falun. In Friday's competition he lost with a significant loss to Bulau, in Sunday's competition he was slightly ahead of Austrian Kogler. During the competition in Lahti he placed ninth and third. In Bærum and Oslo he failed to score points for the World Cup classification, finishing 31st and 17th, respectively.

Nykänen made his debut at the Ski Flying World Championships. He won the bronze medal on the hill in Harrachov, after jumps of 176.0m, 168.0m, 176.0m, 159.0m, 155.0m, 151.0m, 174.0m, 163.0m and 171.0m. He scored 1043.5 points, losing 7.5 points to gold medalist Klaus Ostwald.

In the last cup competitions of the 1982 season

1983

In the credited World Cup jumping competitions held on the American continent in December, Nykänen finished on the second step of the podium three times and was fifth once. After the first competition in Lake Placid, he became the independent leader of the FIS ranking.

He started the competition at the Four Hills Tournament with a fourth-place finish in Oberstdorf. He lost 21.3 points to the winner, Klaus Ostwald. In Garmisch he placed fifth, but moved up to third in the overall Tournament standings. Jens Weißflog became the new leader. In Innsbruck, after jumps of 96m and 102.5m, the Finnish representative was classified second, behind Weißflog. The places on the TCS podium did not change. In the competition in Bischofshofen he was sixth, which ultimately gave him third place at the end of the German-Austrian series. However, he defended his lead in the World Cup against the German who won on Paul Ausserleitner's hill.

The Finn failed to appear at the start of five consecutive Cup competitions, making Weißflog the new leader of the World Cup classification after the competitions in Cortina d'Ampezzo, and extending his lead after the following events.

Before the Sarajevo Games, Nykänen was mentioned as one of the main candidates to win medals. In the first round of competition on the normal hill, he reached 91m and led with a lead of 3.6 points over Jens Weißflog. In the final, he jumped 84m (the fourteenth result of the final series) and with the German's attempt three meters better, he dropped to second place, losing to him by 1.2 points. During his second jump, his ski slipped off the icy track, causing the jumper to wobble and delay his jump. After the competition, he also explained the weaker performance with food poisoning. Six days later on a larger facility in the first round, Nykänen landed at 116m (setting a hill record) and led with a lead of 13.1 points over Weißflog. In the final round, he reached 111m and became the Olympic champion with a score of 231.2 points. By beating second-placed Weißflog by 17.5 points, he achieved the largest point difference between an Olympic gold and silver medalist in ski jumping history.

A week after the Olympics ended, Engelberg hosted a world championship team jumping competition, held due to the failure to include a team competition in the Yugoslavian Olympic program. The Finnish national team, with Nykänen in the lineup, won with a score of 618.3 points, with a lead of 46.1 points over the second-ranked East German team.

In the Cup competition in Lahti, held in March on the normal and large hill, he took a double victory. On a facility with a construction point located at 88 meters, he reached 86 meters and 84 meters and won the competition ahead of his compatriot Puikkonen. A day later he finished second in a competition not counted in the World Cup standings, and at the end of the competition in Lahti he won on the large hill with jumps of 119.5m and 109.5m. At the Lugnet hill in Falun, he finished fourth. He was ahead of Jens Weißflog, who was absent in Finland and Sweden, in the World Cup standings. In Lillehammer he placed second, losing to Czechoslovakian Pavel Ploc. Weißflog, who was sixth in those competitions, returned to competition in the World Cup. In Oslo, Nykänen was 76th, while the German also took an unrewarded place for the classification, 22nd.

At Heini Klopfer's mammoth venue in Oberstdorf, Nykänen won twice with a lead of more than 30 points, and twice improved the world record in jump length (182m, then to 185m). He increased the number of points in the World Cup ranking and his lead over second-placed Weißflog. He did not compete in the last two competitions of the season in Planica. Weißflog won the competition on the normal hill and overtook Nykänen in the overall World Cup ranking. The victory guaranteed him the final lead in the entire series, because that season the FIS counted each athlete's best five results up to the competitions in Sapporo and the best five obtained afterwards in the ranking. In the final competition of the season, on the large hill, the German was eighth and was officially declared the World Cup winner. Nykänen was second.

1984

In the first four World Cup competitions of the 1984 season

He finished the opening competition of the Four Hills Tournament in Oberstdorf in second place, losing 11.5 points to the winner Vettori. In Ga-Pa he was ninth and dropped to third in the Tournament standings. Jens Weißflog became the new leader. Nykänen won in Innsbruck with jumps of 105m and 110m, reducing the loss to the German in the tournament table to 11 points. The last competition, held in Bischofshofen, he finished sixth, which, with the fourth place of the representative of East Germany, meant a win for Weißflog and Nykänen's second place in the entire Tournament. In the World Cup classification, which included each jumper's five best performances, he was fourth, with a loss of 36 points to first-place Andreas Felder.

At the world championships hosted by Austria's Seefeld in Tirol, the Finn won two medals. The competitions on the large hill were held in Innsbruck (Bergisel). Individually, Nykänen won the bronze medal there, reaching 108m twice. He lost 2.5 points to gold medalist Norwegian Per Bergerud. In the team competition, the Finnish team took gold. Nykänen posted jumps of 104m and 107m, the longest in the team. The competition on the normal hill was held in Seefeld - there the Finn reached 83.5m and 88m, which allowed him to finish 11th. The loss to the podium was 8.2 points.

The World Cup competition moved to Sapporo, where Nykänen stood on the podium twice - first on the highest and then on its second step. He won the first competition with a lead of 21.4 points over Czechoslovakian Ladislav Dluhoš. In the second competition he lost to Japanese Masahiro Akimoto. He also finished second in the competition in Sankt Moritz, Switzerland, where Vettori won. In Engelberg he did not start, as well as in the flying competition in Harrachov.

On the hills in Lahti, he again finished in the top three twice. On the smaller hill he won (jumps of 85.5m and 84m), and on the large hill he placed second. He finished eighth and sixth on the hills in Sweden, in Örnsköldsvik and Falun, respectively. He was losing to Felder in the World Cup standings. However, he won the last three competitions of the season, first on the Holmenkollbakken in Oslo (the Austrian was fourth there), and finally in Štrbské Pleso. These victories, with Felder's weaker performance, guaranteed him first place in the 1984 World Cup.

A week earlier, he won the ski flying world championship at the Mammoth in Planica. He won the title with jumps of 190.0m, 174.0m, 136.0m, 187.0m and 186.0m. His lead over the next ranked athlete was 49.5 points. During the event, Nykänen twice improved the world record, jumping first 187 m and then 191 m. A year later, in March 1986, the result of 191 m was equaled by Andreas Felder, and from then on the subsequent longest jumps had the status given by the FIS no longer as records, but as "best results in the world."

Nykänen still competed in the European Cup in late March and early April, finishing third in Ruka and second in Bardufoss. He was also third at the competition in Bardu.

In 1985, he was named Finland's Sportsman of the Year. He won the title again in 1988.

1985

Nykänen began this season by participating in the World Cup competition in Thunder Bay. In the first competition, he finished on the lowest step of the podium, behind Primož Ulaga and Vegard Opaas. A day later, he was fourth, with Ulaga winning again. In the American Lake Placid, the Finn jumped less well and finished seventh and 19th. The athlete had increasing problems with alcohol. He was briefly suspended by the Finnish ski federation and missed the start of several more competitions, leaving the Four Hills Tournament, among others.

He returned to competition in Harrachov, where he won his first competition of the season on January 11, 1986. He was successful with distances of 122 m and 116 m. In the single-series competition in Liberec, on the other hand, he was eleventh, with a loss of 15.3 points to the winner Piotr Fijas. Despite this, he took first place in the classification of the Bohemia Tournament. The Finn recorded his next win in Klingenthal, where he landed on 100m and 103m. In Oberwiesenthal, on the other hand, he did not increase his point total, finishing 21st.

Nykänen then flew to Hokkaido, where he won decisively twice on the hills in Sapporo, after which he was classified in the table of the entire Cup series in first place, 5 points ahead of Ernst Vettori and 10 points ahead of Ulaga. In the next competition, held in Vikersund, Norway, the Finn twice placed in the top three competitors; in the first competition he gave way to Felder, in the second also to Vettori. During the Swiss Tournament, held at the Sankt Motitz, Gstaad and Engelberg venues, he was twelfth, third and second, respectively. He lost the victory in the TS final classification to Rolf Åg Berg by 0.1 points. On the home hills in Lahti he was already the best; on the normal hill he was 10.7 points ahead of his compatriot Puikkonen, on the large hill another Finn, Pekka Suorsa, by 2.7 points.

The World Ski Flying Championships were held in Bad Mitterndorf on March 8-9. Nykänen, in what counted as a four-series competition, finished third, rewarded with a bronze medal. At that time he achieved distances of 123.0 m, 183.0 m, 131.0 m, 173.0 m, 185.0 m and 176.0 m. The difference between him and the winning Felder was 46.5 points.

At the World Cup competition on the large hill in Oslo, he lost only to Vettori. On the K-90 facility in Planica, he took the victory, and the Austrian finished outside the top 15. Although Vettori triumphed a day later on the large hill (the Finn was third), it no longer mattered for the arrangement in the overall World Cup standings, where Nykänen was 18 points ahead of his rival (250 to 232) and became the first ski jumper in history to win the series for the third time.

In 1986 he heard his first ever sentence. He stole cigarettes and beer from a store, but ended up with a fine.

1986

In the competitions in Thunder Bay, the Finn stood on the podium twice; first he took second place (behind Jens Weißflog), and a day later he won. He placed lower a week later in Lake Placid - he was thirteenth and tenth on the American hills.

He performed similarly in the German part of the Four Hills Tournament. He finished fifteenth in Oberstdorf in poor style, and ninth in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Even before the inauguration of the TCS, he announced in the press - without consulting the training staff and the national ski association - that he was resigning from the German-Austrian competition. After lengthy negotiations, he was persuaded to change his mind, but his attitude to the competition remained dismissive: he forgot to bring skis to Oberstdorf, refused to jump on the Yugoslavian boards organized for him by the staff on the spot, and after finally finding jumping machines that suited him, he entered the competition without making even a single training jump. After the New Year's competition in Ga-Pa, Nykänen distanced himself and his wife from the Finnish team, leaving training in Innsbruck. He only joined the team stationed at the hotel in the evening, being clearly in poor physical condition. The team management contacted the head of his federation, who, after a telephone conversation with the athlete, removed him from the national team. Nykänen, under the influence of alcohol at the time, caused considerable property damage on the grounds of the hotel where he was staying. He was ranked 66th in the unfinished TCS table.

At the time, Austrian ski manufacturer Kneissl stood up for the Finnish jumper, as Nykänen, jumping on its equipment, was the company's most important marketing figure. The Austrians promised to take care of the athlete's preparation for the upcoming world championships and arrange a quiet training session for him. The jumper ignored this opportunity and flew to Sri Lanka with his wife. Kneissl then threatened him with termination of his contract and the association withdrew him from the championships. After persuasion from his coach Matti Pulli, Nykänen returned to Europe and came to an agreement with all parties.

On February 15, 1987 on the K-120 hill, Nykänen finished nineteenth at the World Championships held in Oberstdorf. At that time he made jumps of 101m and 112m. Two days later, the Finns won the championship title in the team competition. Nykänen landed on 110 m and 111 m. In the last competition of the event, the individual competition on the normal course, he finished second and won the silver medal. With 88 m and 87 m, he couldn't beat only Jiří Parma, with whom he lost by 11.5 points.

He returned to the World Cup, in which he was ranked eleventh, in Lahti. He finished sixteenth on the K-88 facility, and a day later took the victory with distances of 90 m and 85.5 m. He recorded another win in Falun, Sweden, where he landed on 115m and 103m. He then missed the competitions in Planica and only appeared in the two season-ending competitions in Norway: he was fourth in Rælingen and seventh in Oslo. He finished sixth in the final World Cup standings with 133 points.

1987

The Finnish representative won the December World Cup competitions with a decisive advantage over his rivals - in the first competition in Thunder Bay he beat Pavel Ploc by a difference of 23 points, in the second Jens Weißflog by 23.8 points. In Sapporo, on the other hand, he distanced his opponents by 17.3 points, respectively. (the competition was discontinued after the first round) and 39.3 pts.

However, the first competition of the Four Hills Tournament ended with the victory of Ploc, who was 4.6 points ahead of the second-ranked Finn. In Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Nykänen was again the best, reaching 103.5m and 101m and moving up to the TCS leader position. He also won the competition in Austria by a large margin, first in Innsbruck jumping 108m and 105m, and then in the final in Bischofshofen with 112.5m and 110m. He was 99 points ahead of second-place Weißflog in the final table for the entire series. He was also the leader in the World Cup. After the last TCS competition, he got into a fight with a group of Austrian fans, resulting in a black eye.

The Finn then took part in the Swiss Tournament, which counts as part of the World Cup. He won the competition in Sankt Moritz, was also fifth in Gstaad and second in Engelberg. These results gave him victory in the overall TS ranking.

Nykänen was the main candidate to win in Calgary at the Olympic competition. On the normal hill in the opening round, he jumped by far the farthest (89.5m) and was 7.9 points ahead of second-placed Jiří Malec. In the second round, he copied the distance he achieved earlier and won decisively, beating runner-up Pavel Ploc by 17 points. On the large hill, the Finn was again the best: he reached distances of 118.5 m and 107 m and with a score of 224.0 points, with an advantage of 16.1 points over second-placed Erik Johnsen, became the first jumper in history to win two Olympic gold medals at one Games, as well as the first three-time Olympic champion in ski jumping. A day later, the first team competition in Olympic ski jumping history was held. It ended with the success of the Finnish national team, whose best athlete was Nykänen. He thus reached his third gold medal with the two longest jumps in the entire competition - 115.5m and 114.5m. He thus became the first and, to this day, the only ski jumper in history to win three gold medals at one Games. After this success, he became an idol of Finnish fans and a celebrity.

He then competed in front of his home crowd in Lahti and, just like two and four years earlier, twice proved to be the best. Twice he was immediately followed by Swede Jan Boklöv.

He won a bronze medal at the World Ski Flying Championships in Oberstdorf. His flights were 168m, 168m and 180m. Due to strong winds, the first day's flights were canceled, and the results were determined on the basis of only two series, conducted on March 13.

After his absence in Meldal, he appeared at the start of the competition in Oslo, but took a position outside the scoring top fifteen - seventeenth. He finished the competition in Planica, Yugoslavia, with one top spot - fourth on the smaller venue (he was 18th in the second competition). Thus, he won the overall World Cup classification for the fourth time in his career and took home the Crystal Ball, presented since 1987, for the first time. He scored 282 points throughout the season, the most in his career.

On April 2, he won the international competition held in Ruka, jumping 118.5m and 115m.

1988

In September, Nykänen won the event in Kandersteg, ahead of runner-up Ladislav Dluhoš by 25.7 points.

He opened the winter season with a third place in the World Cup competition on the hill in Thunder Bay. At that time, he gave way only to Dieter Thoma and Risto Laakkonen. In the second competition held there, he finished 51st. In Sapporo on the K-90 facility, he won (jumps of 88.5m and 90m), and was third on the K-115 facility.

He also finished third in Oberstdorf, in the first competition of the Four Hills Tournament. At that time he lost 10.5 points to the victorious Thoma. Jumps of 109m and 102m gave him the win in Ga-Pa, the last in his World Cup career. In Innsbruck, he was classified fifth, and remained second in the overall series table, with a loss of 1.5 points to the new leader, Weißflog. In Bischofshofen, the weaker form of both jumpers (the Finn was eighteenth, one and a half points ahead of the nineteenth German) was exploited by Laakkonen, who was tenth in the competition, and eventually overtook them in the Tournament standings by 2.5 points and won the entire series. Nykänen and Weißflog were second with a total score of 838.5 points. After that competition, the three-time Olympic champion was fourth in the World Cup. He did not score any more points that season and was ultimately ranked ninth.

At the world championships in Lahti, he finished third on the large hill and fourth on the normal hill. In the first competition, he landed at 108m twice each and lost 13.5 points to gold medalist Jari Puikkonen. The Finnish team, with Nykänen in the lineup, took gold in the team competition. In the second individual competition, which was shortened to one round, he reached 85.5m, which made him lose 1.4 points to third place.

In 1989, he was voted Finland's best athlete of the 1980s by journalists, receiving 65% of the vote.

1989

The first competitions of the new World Cup, which took place in Thunder Bay, ended with the Finnish jumper finishing 10th and 18th in the pack (in the latter event he was ranked ex aequo with Japan's Noriaki Kasai). In Lake Placid, he stood on the second step of the podium (it was his last career podium), losing to Ernst Vettori, whom he had beaten nearly nine years earlier at the world junior championships, achieving his first career international success. A day later, he was eighth.

In the first TCS competition he placed seventh in the stakes, and in the second he finished fourth, half a point behind third-placed František Jež. He moved up to sixth in the entire Tournament. He fared much less well on the Austrian hills, recording 33rd place in Innsbruck and 40th in Bischofshofen. He finished the tournament in sixteenth place. He still appeared in the Cup competition in Czechoslovakia, but 23rd place in Harrachov and 24th in Liberec discouraged him from further starts in the World Cup. Faced with deficiencies in training, he demanded a change of coach. He blamed everyone around him for his poor performance. In the final ranking he was ranked 19th with 55 points.

Instead, he appeared at the World Ski Flying Championships in Vikersund. After jumps of 171m and 160m, he took home the silver medal, falling 6.9 points behind Dieter Thoma.

1990

In October, he announced that after the Albertville Games he would change sports and compete in Formula Royal powerboat racing.

Nykänen appeared in the first four more World Cup competitions in December 1990. He failed to score points in any of them, the closest he came to doing so being in the second competition in Thunder Bay, where he finished 16th. Then, instead of going to the Four Hills Tournament, he flew to the Canary Islands, where he had alcoholic libations. Due to not winning any World Cup points, he was not included in the final Cup standings.

Despite his poor form, he received a call-up to the World Championships in Predazzo, where he finished 50th out of 62 starters on the large hill. The Finnish national team won the runner-up title in the team competition without him.

After the championships, the 27-year-old athlete announced he was quitting jumping. The official reason for ending his career was back problems. A growth on his spine was later operated on, but he no longer had the enthusiasm to train.

Places in the classification of individual tournaments

In December 1992 he went to Sapporo, where he undertook to train local jumpers, but resigned after three weeks. He still tried to return to skiing after that, but after several unsuccessful starts (in September 1993 in Hinterzarten he was 29th, and in March 1994 in the Continental Cup he was 61st in Ruka and 53rd in Rovaniemi) he completely gave up active ski jumping.

In 1996, he was elected city councilor of Uurainen from the list of the populist and anti-European True Finns party. He was also its candidate in the 1995 parliamentary elections, but did not win a seat. He served on the council until 1998.

In 1999, he was voted the second best Finnish athlete of the 20th century by fans. He received 19.2% of the vote, the winner with 35.5% of the vote was runner-up Paavo Nurmi; third was Lasse Virén. In turn, he was named Turha julkkis (Useless Celebrity) in 1996, 2003 and 2005 in a radio vote of Finnish celebrities.

On January 13, 2006, a biographical film on Nykänen's life entitled Matti entered Finnish theaters. The main character was played by Jasper Pääkkönen. A song called Lennä Nykäsen Matti was also created for the film, with music composed by Heikki Salo, lyrics written by Mato Valtonen and Sakke Järvenpää, and performed by Timo Kotipelto.

The Laajavuori hill at HS108 in Jyväskyli is named after Nykänen.

In February 2008, he took part in the veteran ski jumping world championships held at the hills in Taivalkoski. He took fifth place on the K-50 facility, and proved to be the best on the K-38. At that time he achieved distances of 37.5m and 37m, which gave him a lead of 13.2 points over second-placed Norwegian Jan Ing Skjerven. He returned to the veterans' competition for the world title in January 2010 in Žiri. This time he placed fifth on the K-40 hill and third on the K-26 (he had jumps of 22.5m and 24m). The last time he participated in this competition was in March 2011: in Harrachov he was again first 5th (K-70 hill) and then won (K-40 hill) with jumps of 36 m and 34.5 m, achieving a lead of 16.4 points over the runner-up, Russian Vladimir Saichik.

His eight-episode online cooking TV show Mattihan se sopan keitti (on the Sub TV channel) premiered in November 2009, and the former ski jumper also later published a cookbook. In 2011, he received a business award from an international group of experts.

On March 11, 2013, during qualification for the World Cup competition in Kuopio, he gave the starting signal to Austrian ski jumper Gregor Schlierenzauer, who had previously broken his record for the number of victories in World Cup competitions. Also in March, he became the coach of ski jumper Harri Olli. At the annual Finnish Sports Gala, he received a lifetime achievement award for his sports career.

In 2016, a biographical film was made about British ski jumper Eddie Edwards Eddie called Eagle. It starred Swedish actor Edvin Endre in the role of Nykänen. The play (monologue) Matti Nykänen - Jump in the Fog, in which the title role was played by Tatu Mönttinen, was also staged in many Finnish theaters from 2018.

In 1991, a group of businessmen suggested Nykänen become a singer. His first album Yllätysten yö (Surprise Night) was released in 1992 and sold 25,000 copies. He thus became the second Finnish Olympic champion whose album achieved gold record status (the first was Tapio Rautavaara). His next album (Samurai), released in 1993, was not as successful, mainly due to the artist's alcohol abuse and his marital problems. In 2002, he released a single titled Elämä on laiffii (Life is Life) and launched his own brand of cider, with the song title as its advertising slogan.

In 2006 he released his third studio album Ehkä otin, ehkä en (Maybe I took, maybe I didn't). For most of his musical career, Nykänen worked with professional musician Jussi Niemi. He traveled around the country, giving 2-3 concerts a week with the Samurai band, led by Niemi. Some of Nykänen's speeches, as well as excerpts from his songs, have entered the Finnish vernacular.

Discography

A native of Kangaslampi (part of the city of Jyväskylä), Nykänen dropped out of school at the beginning of his sports career to devote himself entirely to skiing. His parents were saleswoman Vieno and driver Hilmeri Ensio (1933-2016). He had two sisters, Päivi and Tuija.

In 1985, his illegitimate daughter Anniina, whose mother was Tarja Jokinen Tiina Hassinen, was born. Soon they had a child - son Sami (born 1987). After two years of marriage, they divorced. In 1989 the skier married Pia Hynninen, with whom he was engaged until 1991. From this union they have a daughter Eveliina (born 1990).

In 1996 he married for the third time, this time to Sari Paanala. During the marriage, he took his wife's name. From then on, for two years, his name was Matti Paanala. Their relationship lasted until 1998, at which time the former ski jumper returned to his former name. From 2001 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2010, he was married to Mervi Tapola, the daughter of a Finnish sausage tycoon. Their relationship was a frequent topic covered by tabloids. He struggled with financial troubles, from which, in an effort to get out of them, he sold all the medals he had won, which were bought from him by the Helsinki Sports Museum. As late as the late 1990s, he was still moonlighting as a waiter, singer at a karaoke bar and stripper. In February 2003, he was sentenced to four months in prison with probation after attempting to attack his fourth wife with a knife. A few months later, he wrote his autobiography, titled Greetings from hell.

On October 27, 2004, he received another sentence - 26 months in prison - after he wounded a 59-year-old man with a knife during an argument at his wife's summer home. The prosecution had accused Nykänen of attempted murder, but the court, taking into account that the former ski jumper was under the influence of alcohol and not fully aware of his actions at the time of the crime, convicted him only of grievous bodily harm. That same year, he suffered a heart attack. He was released from prison in September 2005. While on parole, he was arrested again for attacking his wife. On March 16, 2006, he was sentenced to a four-month prison term. Shortly after his release, he wounded a customer of a pizzeria in Korpilahti with a knife. He was sentenced to two years' imprisonment; however, the sentence was reduced to 60 days and 57 hours of community service.

On December 26, 2009, he was arrested for attempting to murder his wife with a bathrobe belt. She ended up in the hospital with wounds on her hands and forehead. She had earlier called the police from her neighbors' house, where she had taken refuge from her attacking husband. He was sentenced to 16 months in prison for this crime on August 24, 2010. He also had to pay €5,000 in damages to his wife and cover the €3,000 cost of the trial. Tests showed that he suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which causes aggression and neurological disorders. In August 2010, Mervi Tapola filed her fifteenth divorce petition, which eventually ended their relationship.

After his release from prison, he became engaged to celebrity Susanna Ruotsalainen. In 2012, he starred in a ten-episode show about his daily life. The reality show broke records for popularity. After splitting with Ruotsalainen, he got engaged to Joutseno native Pia Talonpoika in October 2013. They lived in Joutseno, which was incorporated into the city of Lappeenranta in 2009 (Nykänen previously lived in Ylöjärvi). The former ski jumper had a difficult relationship with his children, who would not allow him to meet his grandchildren.

In the summer of 2018, Nykänen was diagnosed with diabetes. A few months later, he began giving concerts again, performing for the last time on February 1, 2019 at a Helsinki restaurant. In the last period of his life, he suffered from dizziness and nausea. He did not follow the recommended diet. He died shortly after midnight on February 4, 2019 at his home at the age of 55. At the time, he got severe torsion, after which he went to wash up in the bathroom, from which he did not leave for a long time. When his wife got inside, he was lying dead on the floor in his own vomit. The official cause of death was long-term pancreatitis due to alcohol abuse, which was compounded by pneumonia. News of his death was widely covered by Finnish and foreign media. At the request of Minister of Culture, Sports and European Affairs Sampa Terha, the Finnish government planned to hold a state funeral for Nykänen in recognition of his "immense services to the country and the nation," but the jumper's family opposed these intentions, opting for a private, modest ceremony in Jyväskylä, his hometown. He was buried in the family tomb next to his father and great-grandmother. Funeral costs were covered by the Finnish state.

Books about Nykänen

Matti Nykänen, who has a total of 46 World Cup wins to his credit, is one of only two ski jumpers in history (along with Adam Malysz - 39 competition wins) to win the overall World Cup four times. He has competed 143 times in Cup competitions.

Places in the general classification

With 46 World Cup victories, Nykänen is the second athlete in history with the most wins in World Cup competitions, behind Gregor Schlierenzauer (53 wins). He is the only ski jumper in history to win as many as eight World Cup competitions in one city (Salpausselkä Hills in Lahti).

Podium places

Matti Nykänen has stood on the podium of World Cup competitions 76 times (the most podiums were achieved by Janne Ahonen - 108), 46 of them on the highest step of the podium. In addition, he was second 22 times and took the lowest step of the podium 8 times. The most times he was classified in the top three of the competition was during the competition held in Lahti (twelve times).

Places in individual World Cup competitions

Matti Nykänen won a total of (individual and team) 22 medals at the national championship events. This number consists of 13 gold, 2 silver and 7 bronze rings. He was the individual champion nine times: four times on the normal hill (1983, 1987, 1988, 1989) and five times on the large hill (1981, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1988).

Sources

1. Matti Nykänen
2. Matti Nykänen
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4. Skład zespołu: Keijo Korhonen, Jari Puikkonen, Pentti Kokkonen i Matti Nykänen.
5. Skład zespołu: Markku Pusenius, Pentti Kokkonen, Jari Puikkonen i Matti Nykänen.
6. Skład zespołu: Tuomo Ylipulli, Pentti Kokkonen, Matti Nykänen i Jari Puikkonen.
7. Skład zespołu: Matti Nykänen, Ari-Pekka Nikkola, Tuomo Ylipulli i Pekka Suorsa.
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9. a b Matti Nykäsen kuolin­ilmoitus julkaistiin Keski­suomalaisessa: ”Kotka nousi siivilleen ja katosi taivaan sineen” Ilta-Sanomat. 3.3.2019. Viitattu 3.3.2019.
10. a b Ikävalko, Kari: Mäkihyppylegenda Matti Nykänen on kuollut Yle Uutiset. 4.2.2019. Viitattu 4.2.2019.
11. Saarikosk, Saska: Viimeinen koko kansan urheiluikoni. Helsingin Sanomat, 5.2.2019. Artikkelin verkkoversio Viitattu 14.2.2019.
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14. ^ a b "Matti Nykänen oli yksi Suomen kaikkien aikojen urheilijoista – mäkilegendan ainutlaatuiset saavutukset hakevat vertaistaan". Yle (in Finnish). 4 February 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
15. ^ "Matti Nykänen". IOC. Retrieved 4 March 2017.^ Boswell, Thomas (24 February 1988). "Another Jump Begets Gold for Nykanen". The Washington Post. Fred Ryan. Retrieved 4 March 2017.^ Associated Press (24 June 1994). "Sports People: Ski Jumping; Nykanen Gives Up Comeback and Retires". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 4 March 2017.^ Davies, Lizzy (28 December 2009). "Ski jump star suspected of trying to stab his wife". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 4 March 2017.^ Battersby, Kate (8 January 2010). "Life still all downhill for ski legend Matti Nykanen". Daily Express. Northern & Shell. Retrieved 4 March 2017.^ MacArthur, Paul J. (September–October 2011). Skiing Heritage Journal, p. 29, at Google Books. International Skiing History Association. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
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