This page is about the olympic-winning ski jumper. There is also a University teacher named Matti Nykänen.

Matti Nykänen (born July 17, 1963) is a Finnish ski-jumper, and inarguably one of the greatest in that sport, winning five olympic medals (four golden), 15 world championships medals (six golden) and 22 Finnish championships medals (13 golden). He won gold and silver in 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, and was the first ever to win medals on both hills in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. In 1986 he flew 191 metres in Planica, which was a world record until 1987, when Piotr Fijas (Poland) flew 194 metres, again in Planica. July 17 is the 198th day (199th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 167 days remaining. ... Events January-February January 11 - The Whisky A Go-Go night club in Los Angeles, the first disco in the USA, is opened. ... The Republic of Finland (Finnish: Suomen tasavalta, Swedish: Republiken Finland) is a Nordic country in northeastern Europe, bordered by the Baltic Sea to the southwest, the Gulf of Finland to the southeast and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west. ... Ski jumping is a winter sport in which skiers go down a hill with a take-off ramp (the jump), attempting to go as far as possible. ... The XIV Olympic Winter Games were held in 1984 in Japan; and Falun/Göteborg, Sweden. ... Sarajevo (Summer 2004) Downtown Sarajevo and the Miljacka river. ... The XV Olympic Winter Games were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. ... Motto: Heart of the new west Area: 712. ... 1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Planica is an alpine valley in northwestern Slovenia, extending south from the border town Rateče, not far from another well known ski resort, Kranjska Gora. ... 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Republic of Poland, a democratic country with a population of 38,626,349 and area of 312,685 km², is located in Central Europe, between Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and...

His career inextricably combined sheer genius with temperamental outbursts and capers.

Once Nykänen gave up the sport, the genius remained a heroic memory in the minds of his countrymen, but his continuing and widely publicized follies made him a something of a national disgrace. Stories of him beating his wife and his wife beating him (usually the latter), multiple marriages and divorces, a career as a musical performer (resulting in such horrible ear-grating compositions as "Hai Hai Hai, mä oon sun samurai", roughly translated as "Hai, Hai, Hai, I am your samurai", and "Vain mäkimies voi tietää sen", roughly "Only a ski jumper truly knows") and even as a male stripper guaranteed more ridicule than respect. In his native land he is possibly the one man who has graced more tabloid screamsheets than any other person. A tabloid is a newspaper — especially in the United Kingdom — that uses the tabloid format, which is roughly 23½ by 14¾ inches per spread. ...

He has been married several times:

• Tiina Hassinen (1986–1988)
• Pia Hynninen (1989–1991)
• Sari Paanala (1996–1998)
• Mervi Tapola (2001–2003)
• Mervi Tapola (2004–)

On August 24, 2004, Matti Nykänen was arrested on suspicion of attempted manslaughter after the stabbing of a family friend. He was found guilty and sentenced to a two year, two month jail term on October 27, 2004. He will serve only half of the sentence as a first-timer. 1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January January 1 - Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 24 is the 236th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (237th in leap years), with 129 days remaining. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Murder is both a legal and a moral term, that are not always coincident. ... October 27 is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 65 days remaining. ...