Matti Rajakylä
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Matti Rajakylä (born August 14, 1984 in Kirkkonummi, Finland) is a freestyle and butterfly swimmer from Finland. He is currently the best male swimmer in Finland and holds the national records in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle and 50m butterfly [1]. He participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics that were held in Athens.
Rajakylä's achievements include the bronze in the 50m freestyle at the European Junior Championships in Linz, Austria in 2002, the bronze in the 4 × 50m medley relay at the European SC Championships in Wien, Austria in 2004 and the bronze in the 50m butterfly at the European SC Championships in Trieste, Italy in 2005 in a time of 23.17. [2] Rajakylä came in third in the semi-finals in the 50m butterfly at the European LC Championships 2006 in Budapest, Hungary in a time of 23.77, but in the finals he underperformed, clocking in 24.00 and thus coming in sixth place and losing out on a medal[3].
Rajakylä has also set the world record for the 24-hour swim along with other Finnish swimmers in September 2005. [4]
Matti Rajakylä's personal life has been in the media spotlight due to his relationship with Finnish model and socialite Charlotta Poppius (full name Isabella Vivian Charlotta Poppius)[5]. Because of his relationship with Poppius, Rajakylä elevated his status from being an athlete into a celebrity. The media around the on/off pair reached it's height in the summer of 2006 after which the pair went their separate ways.
Rajakylä's hobbies include tennis, yoga and cooking[6].
[edit] References:
- ^ Componenta (Matti's sponsor)
- ^ Information booklet on all Finnish swimmers who took part in the European LC Championships in Budapest 2006 (in Finnish)
- ^ Eurosport (European Championships -Men's 50m Butterfly Final Results)
- ^ Swimming World Magazine article
- ^ Charlotta's official MySpace page
- ^ Article of Matti Rajakylä in Finnish magazine (in Finnish)
