Matti Hautamäki

Hautamäki started ski jumping at the age of seven near his hometown of Oulu. When his older brother Jussi and friend Lauri Hakola moved to Kuopio, Matti joined them. At first he found it difficult to be independent at the age of sixteen, but he received much help and support from his brother, with whom he was living at the time. The help of his new coach Pekka Niemelä, whom he met at the sports school in Kuopio, also helped him advance quickly. In the same year Matti had his first real successes and won medals at the 1997 and 1999 FIS Junior World Ski Jumping Championships.

At the Four Hills Tournament in 2001/02, Hautamäki finished second, his highest ever place in that tournament. In 2002 and 2005 he won the Nordic Tournament, with a clean sweep of all four events in the latter. It was during the 2004–05 season that he won six individual events in a row, including the pre-Winter Olympics rehearsal in Pragelato, and the first ski flying event in Planica; this matched the record for the most consecutive victories set by countryman Janne Ahonen in the same season. Hautamäki also won the ski jumping event at the 2005 Holmenkollen Ski Festival in Oslo.

Hautamäki was regarded as a specialist at ski flying, with the majority of his personal best distances being achieved in Planica. An early sign of things to come was showcased on 23 March 2002 when he jumped 224.5 metres, nearly equalling the then-world record of 225 m set two years prior by Andreas Goldberger. At the 20–23 March 2003 event, Hautamäki set three consecutive world records of 227.5 m (746 ft), 228.5 m (750 ft), and 231 m (758 ft); the latter making him the first to ever officially land a jump over 230 m.[1] His record stood until 20 March 2005, a day on which it was equalled once by Tommy Ingebrigtsen and later broken a further three times in spectacular fashion: Bjørn Einar Romøren first jumped 234.5 m (769 ft) during the morning training round, followed by Hautamäki momentarily reclaiming the record with 235.5 m (773 ft) in the afternoon event. This was then shattered again by Romøren only minutes later, who jumped 239 m (784 ft). Some minutes after that, Janne Ahonen jumped 240 m (790 ft), but this was rendered invalid due to him falling hard upon landing.