Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards

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Michael Edwards (born 5 December 1963), better known as Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards, was the first competitor to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping. He was not only the British National Ski-jumping Record holder, but also the World No 9 in Amateur Speed-skiing (106.8mph) and the Stunt Jumping World Record Holder (10 cars/6 buses).^[1][2]

Contents 1 Background 2 Best in Britain 3 Creative prowess 4 Commercial success 5 The Eddie "The Eagle" Rule 6 Planned biopic 7 Return to Calgary 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Background

Edwards was born in Cheltenham, England, and was working as a plasterer when he qualified, as the sole British applicant, for the 1988 Winter Olympics ski-jumping competition. He had previously represented Great Britain at the 1987 World Championships, and was ranked 55th in the world. Eddie began jumping under the watchful eye of Chuck Berghorn in Lake Placid, NY, using his equipment though he had to wear six layers of socks to make the boots fit. Edwards was handicapped by his weight - at about 82 kg (181 lb), more than 9 kg (20 lb) heavier than the next heaviest competitor - and by his lack of financial support for training - he was totally self-funded. Another problem was that he was very short sighted, requiring him to wear his glasses at all times, even though when skiing they fogged to such an extent that he could not see. He finished last in both the 70 m and 90 m events. From the beginning, though, his legend was embroidered with falsehoods.

“	They said I was afraid of heights. But I was doing 60 jumps a day then, which is hardly something someone who was afraid of heights would do. ... But was he afraid of jumping? Of course I was. There was always a chance that my next jump would be my last. A big chance.	”
—The Guardian, 3 September 2007 [3]

However, his lack of success endeared him to people all across the globe. The worse he did, the more popular he became. He subsequently became a media celebrity and appeared on talk-shows around the world. The press nicknamed him "Mr. Magoo", and one Italian journalist called him a "ski dropper".^[4]

The widespread attention that Edwards received in Calgary turned into a large embarrassment for the ski jumping establishment. Many athletes and officials felt that he was 'making a mockery' of the sport. Shortly after the Olympics finished, the entry requirements were greatly toughened, making it next to impossible for anyone to follow his example.

At the closing ceremony the president of the Games singled him out for his contribution: "At this Games some competitors have won gold, some have broken records and one has even flown like an eagle." At that moment, 100,000 people in the stadium roared 'Eddie! Eddie!'. It was the first time in the history of the games that an individual athlete had been mentioned in the closing speech.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Best in Britain

Edwards was the best ski jumper in the United Kingdom, setting a British record of 73.5m in one of his Calgary jumps in 1988.^[5]

[edit] Creative prowess

Edwards subsequently released a book (and a video) called On the Piste^[6]. He recorded a song in Finnish entitled "Mun nimeni on Eetu" ("My name is Eetu"), though he does not speak Finnish. Eddie's less-than-perfect pronunciation added to its appeal. Later, he recorded another Finnish-language song: "Eddien Siivellä" ("On Eddie's Wing"). Both of these songs were composed and written by a popular Finnish artist Irwin Goodman.

[edit] Commercial success

Edwards appeared in a number of advertising campaigns, e.g. on television, promoting cars. He was able to command fees of £10,000 an hour. Nevertheless, he declared bankruptcy in 1992, claiming a trust fund for his earnings was not set up properly. He earned a degree in law at De Montfort University in Leicester. "I've been interested in law since taking out a civil action against my trustees 10 years ago," he remarked in a 2001 interview.^[7]

For several years in the early 2000s, he co-hosted a Sunday morning show with Trish Campbell on BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

In December 2006, he appeared on Five's The Gadget Show, testing new skiing gadgets with one of the presenters.

He appeared on BBC1's The One Show on November 20 2008 in a film celebrating "The Great British Underdog" in the wake of John Sergeant's resignation from Strictly Come Dancing

[edit] The Eddie "The Eagle" Rule

In response to the Edwards phenomenon, in 1990, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) instituted what became known as the Eddie the Eagle Rule, which requires Olympic hopefuls to compete in international events and place in the top 30 percent or the top 50 competitors, whichever is the lesser.

Edwards consequently failed to qualify for the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, and the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway. He managed to get a 5-year sponsorship from Eagle Airlines, a small British charter company serving Guernsey, in order to fund his attempt to reach the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. However, he failed to qualify for the games in Nagano as well.^[3]

[edit] Planned biopic

Eddie the Eagle, a film chronicling the life story of Edwards, was scheduled to go into production in January 2008 and will be released in 2009. It is to be directed by Declan Lowney and will star Steve Coogan in the title role.^[8] As for the actor to play him, Eddie is said to be pleased with the choice but also joked that Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise would be better suited for the role.^[3]

[edit] Return to Calgary

On 13 February 2008, Edwards made a return visit to Calgary to take part in festivities marking the 20th anniversary of the games. During his visit, he rode the zip-line ride at Canada Olympic Park with a member of the Jamaican Bobsled Team (the ride simulates the speed of a ski-jumper) and led a procession of skiers down the slopes of the park, carrying an Olympic torch.^[9][10]

[edit] See also

• Eric "the Eel" Moussambani, another famously unsuccessful Olympian
• Philip Boit
• Vinko Bogataj

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• BBC Gloucestershire interview with Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards (Feb. 2008)
• Video Interview with Eddie Edwards (CBC Television; Broadcast Feb. 24, 1988)
• Eddie "the Eagle" Edwards: Anecdotes
• Interview