SWIMMERS from Finland

Top 4

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Finnish Swimmers of all time. This list of famous Finnish Swimmers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Jani Sievinen (1974 - )

With an HPI of 28.70, Jani Sievinen is the most famous Finnish Swimmer.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages on wikipedia.

Jani Nikanor Sievinen (pronounced [ˈjɑni ˈsie̯ʋinen] ; born 31 March 1974) is a former medley swimmer from Finland, who won the silver medal in the 200 m individual medley at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In winning the World Championship 200m individual medley title in 1994, he established a new world record of 1:58.16 which lasted for almost nine years until it was broken by Michael Phelps (USA). Jani Sievinen was married to Mari Sievinen. They have three daughters (born 2008, 2010 and 2013). Sievinen also has two sons (born 1997 and 2001) from his previous marriage to Susanna Sievinen.

2. Ari-Pekka Liukkonen (1989 - )

With an HPI of 27.71, Ari-Pekka Liukkonen is the 2nd most famous Finnish Swimmer.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Ari-Pekka Liukkonen (born 9 February 1989) is a Finnish swimmer and European champion. He competed in the 50 m freestyle event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is the Finnish record holder over that distance with a time of 21.58 sec, as well as the short course record in the 50 m. He also holds the 100 m freestyle record, at 49.44 seconds. At the 2016 Olympics he swam in the 50 and 100 m freestyle events.

3. Hanna-Maria Seppälä (1984 - )

With an HPI of 27.57, Hanna-Maria Seppälä is the 3rd most famous Finnish Swimmer.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Hanna-Maria Hintsa (née Seppälä born 13 December 1984) is a retired Finnish freestyle swimmer, who won the world title in the 100 m freestyle at the 2003 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, Spain. Hintsa started swimming at age five and made the Finnish national junior team by age 10. In 1999 she won the bronze medal in the European Junior Championships in the 50 m freestyle event. To date she has broken 100 Finnish national records. Hintsa's manager was the now-defunct SportElite company.

4. Matti Mattsson (1993 - )

With an HPI of 25.79, Matti Mattsson is the 4th most famous Finnish Swimmer.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Matti Mattsson (born 5 October 1993 in Pori, Finland) is a Finnish swimmer. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed in the Men's 200 metre breaststroke, finishing in 17th place overall in the heats and failing to qualify for the semifinals. In Barcelona at the 2013 Swimming World Championships, he won bronze medal in Men's 200 metre breaststroke. He has qualified to represent Finland at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He won bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Men's 200 metre breaststroke. In January 2022, Mattsson was named the 2021 Sports Personality of the Year.