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Matti Nykanen, a Finnish ski jumper who dominated the sport in the 1980s and became a national hero, but whose legacy was tarnished by alcohol abuse and episodes of violence, has died. He was 55.
The Finnish magazine Seiska and the public broadcaster YLE, citing his “close circle,” said on Monday that Nykanen had died suddenly overnight. They did not say where he died, and the cause was not immediately known. YLE said he learned he had diabetes last year.
Nykanen, whose nickname was the Flying Finn, won four Olympic gold medals, four World Cup championships and six world titles, the first in 1982 when he was 18.