HELSINKI (AP) — A Finnish court has convicted former Olympic ski jumping champion Matti Nykanen of aggravated assault against his wife and sentenced him to 1 year and four months in prison.
The district court in Pirkanmaa says the 47-year-old attacked his wife Mervi Tapola with a kitchen knife in their southern Finland home on Christmas Day last year. They have since divorced.
Nykanen denied the charges, saying he only tried to defend himself and that his wife’s numerous knife cuts and scratches resulted from a struggle over possession of the knife.
The court rejected a charge that Nykanen had tried to strangle his wife with a bathrobe belt, citing lack of evidence.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Nykanen would appeal, although he has previously said he would appeal any prison sentence.
