HELSINKI (AP) — Matti Nykanen, the four-time Olympic ski jumping champion whose personal life was affected by alcohol problems, has died. He was 55.
Nykanen, who also won seven World Championship gold medals, died Sunday, the International Ski Federation (FIS) said. The cause of death was not immediately known.
Nykanen became an icon of sport in Finland. He was 18 when he won his first competition in the storied Four Hills tournament, yet with boyish looks seemed even younger.
He won the gold medal in the large hill event at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics and took all three gold medals four years later in Calgary, winning the normal hill and large hill as well as the team competitions.