Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards

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On the piste with Eddie Edwards

Michael Edwards (born 5 December 1963), better known as Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards, was the first competitor to represent the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team in Olympic Ski jumping.

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 at ski jump.

Edwards was handicapped by his weight - at about 82 kg (180 pounds), more than 9kg (20 pounds) heavier than the next heaviest competitor - and by his lack of financial support for training - he was totally self-funded - and so he finished last in both the 70m and 90m events. Another problem was that he was very farsighted, requiring him to wear his glasses at all times, even though when skiing they fogged to such an extent that he could not see.

However his lack of success warmed people to him 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". Edwards lived the high life in Calgary, fine-dining and accompanied by an adoring female entourage of "Eaglettes." [link]

The Olympics in Calgary were also the venue for the first Jamaican Bobsled Team, who were also crowd-pleasing underdogs.

Edwards subsequently released a book (and a video) called On the piste (ISBN 0233994971) and much later a song called "Fly Eddie Fly" that reached the Top 50 in the UK. Though he does not speak Finnish, Eddie also recorded this song in this language, and it was entitled "Mun nimeni on Eetu" ("Eetu's my name"). Eddie's less-than-perfect pronunciation adds to its appeal. He also recorded the Finnish-language song "Eddien Siivellä" ("On Eddie's Wing").

He declared bankruptcy in 1992, claiming a trust fund for his earnings was not set up properly. He is now a law student 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. [link]

In March 2002, the exclusive film and TV rights to Eddie's story were purchased by an American production company. It is said that Edwards will perform some of the ski-jumps in the movie.

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.

Edwards consequently failed to qualify for the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, and the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, but 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.

External links

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