Arctic heroes meet the Bard
The Winter(Sport)’s Tale Written by Matti Mäkelä Translated by Alex Ahlgren & Owen F. Witesman
The history of Finnish winter sports
is full of grand emotions, tragedy and larger-than-life characters. Just like Shakespeare’s plays.
Above: Mika Myllylä practising in the bog in his hometown Haapajärvi. photo: Hannes Heikura, HS / Lehtikuva
T
he best ski jumper of all time, Matti Nykänen, who won four Olympic gold medals in the 1980s, six world championships and 46 World Cup competitions, is perhaps the most Shakespearian of Finnish winter sports heroes, combining Hamlet and Falstaff in the same person. Hamlet is especially known for his distinctive monologues (as well as for seeing ghosts), whereas Nykänen’s specialty was his endless supply of seemingly senseless one-liners (“life is man’s best time”, “the odds are fifty-sixty”).
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