- Real name
- Matti Ensio Nykänen
- Born
- July 17, 1963
- Died
- February 4, 2019
- Country
- Finland
- Comments
-
Ski jumper who competed from 1981 to 1991 and is widely considered to be the greatest male ski jumper of all time. Most notably he won three gold medals at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary becoming - along with the speedskater Yvonne van Gennip of The Netherlands - the most successful athlete at that event.
Since the 1990s, Nykänen's status as a celebrity was mainly fueled by his colourful personal relationships, his career as a pop singer and various incidents often related to heavy use of alcohol and violent behaviour. Matti Nykänen died at his home in Lappeenranta in February 2019, from a sudden attack of illness, at the age of 55.
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