Eddie the Eagle

Michael Edwards (born 5 December 1963), known as "Eddie the Eagle", is an English ski-jumper and Olympian who in 1988 became the first competitor since 1928 to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping, finishing last in the 70 m and 90 m events.[1] He held the British ski jumping record from 1988 to 2001. He also took part in amateur speed skiing, running at 106.8 km/h (66.4 mph), and a stunt jumping world record holder for jumping over 6 buses.[2]

This article is about the British ski-jumper. For the film based on his life, see Eddie the Eagle (film). For other uses, see Eddie the Eagle (disambiguation).

Eddie the Eagle
Country United Kingdom
Full nameMichael Edwards
Born (1963-12-05) 5 December 1963
Cheltenham, England
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
World Cup career
Seasons1987–1989
Updated on 17 December 2018.

In 2016, he was portrayed by Taron Egerton in the biographical film Eddie the Eagle.

Background

Edwards was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. His family calls him by his given name, Michael. "Eddie" is a nickname derived by schoolfriends from his surname.[3] Having not made the grade as a downhill skier, he switched to ski jumping as there were no other British ski jumpers with whom to compete for a place.[4]

Edwards began jumping under the eye of John Viscome and Chuck Berghorn[5] in Lake Placid, New York, using Berghorn's equipment, although he had to wear six pairs of socks to make the boots fit. He was disadvantaged by his weight—at about 82 kg (181 lb, 12st 13lb), more than 9 kg (20 lb) heavier than the next heaviest competitor—and by his lack of financial support for training, being totally self-funded.[6] Another problem was that he was very farsighted, wearing thick glasses under his goggles, which would mist up at altitude.[6]

Edwards first represented Great Britain at the 1987 World Championships in Oberstdorf in Bavaria, West Germany and was ranked 55th in the world. This performance qualified him as the sole British applicant for the 1988 Winter Olympics ski jumping competition. He received confirmation of his qualification for the games while working as a plasterer and temporarily residing in a Finnish mental hospital, due to lack of funds for alternative accommodation rather than as a patient.[7]

Edwards' jump of 71m at Calgary in the Winter Olympics was then a British record (now 134.50m held by Halifax born Sam Bolton). His Olympic jump still puts him sixth on the all-time list of British ski jumpers.

1988 Winter Olympics

During the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Edwards competed in and finished last in both the 70 m and 90 m events. In the 70 m, he scored 69.2 points from two jumps of 61.0 m; second-last Bernat Solà Pujol of Spain scored 140.4 points from 71 m and 68.5 m jumps; winner Matti Nykänen of Finland had 229.1 points from 89.5 m jumps. In the 90 m, Edwards scored 57.5 points from 71 m and 67 m jumps; second-last Todd Gilman of Canada had 110.8 points from 96 m and 86.5 m; Nykänen won again, with 224 points from 118.5 m and 107 m.[8]

From the beginning, the press version of his story was "embroidered with falsehoods".[9] "They said I was afraid of heights. But I was doing sixty jumps a day then, which is hardly something someone who was afraid of heights would do."[9]

His lack of success endeared him to people around the globe. He subsequently became a media celebrity and appeared on talk shows around the world, appearing on The Tonight Show during the Games. The press nicknamed him "Mr. Magoo", and one Italian journalist called him a "ski dropper".[10]

At the closing ceremony, the president of the Organizing Committee, Frank King, singled out Edwards for his contribution. King said, looking at the competitors, "You have broken world records and you have established personal bests. Some of you have even soared like an eagle."[11]

"Eddie the Eagle" Rule

Following the widespread attention that Edwards received in Calgary shortly after the Olympics finished, the entry requirements were strengthened in order to make it nearly impossible for anyone to follow his example: 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 be placed in the top 30% or the top 50 competitors, whichever is fewer.[12]

Edwards failed to qualify for the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, and the 1994 Games in Lillehammer, Norway. He got a five-year sponsorship from Eagle Airlines, a small British charter company, to support his attempt to reach the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan, but failed to qualify for those as well.[9]

Return to Calgary and other media appearances

On 13 February 2008, Edwards made a return visit to Calgary to take part in festivities marking the twentieth anniversary of the Games. During his visit, he rode the zip-line 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 while carrying an Olympic torch.[13][14]

Edwards was chosen as a torchbearer in the relay for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. He ran with the torch on 7 January 2010 in Winnipeg.[15]

Edwards released a book (and a video) called On the Piste.[16] In 1991 he recorded a single in Finnish entitled "Mun nimeni on Eetu" ("My name is Eetu"), B-sided with "Eddien Siivellä" ("On Eddie's Wing") though he does not speak Finnish. Edwards learned the lyrics phonetically and the song reached no.2 in the Finnish charts.[17] The songs were written by Finnish singer Irwin Goodman.[18]

In the same year (1991) Edwards completed a charity ski jump at a ski slope in Christchurch, Dorset. He raised £23000.00 for BBC Children in Need by jumping over 10 cars using a ski jump made of scaffolding.

Edwards appeared in a number of advertising campaigns, e.g. on television, promoting cars, and commanded fees of £10,000 an hour. Nevertheless, he declared bankruptcy in 1992, claiming that a trust fund for his earnings was not set up properly.[19] In 2003, he graduated from De Montfort University in Leicester with a degree in law.[20] "I've been interested in law since taking out a civil action against my trustees 10 years ago," he said in a 2001 interview.[21]

On 25 February 2012, he appeared as a competitor on episode 2 of BBC1's Let's Dance for Sport Relief, 2012 and got through to the final on most public votes. His performances were accompanied by the Royal British Legion Band & Corps Of Drums Romford.[22]

In 2013, he won the first series of the British celebrity diving programme Splash!, mentored by Tom Daley.[23]

In January 2014, he commentated on the Channel 4 TV programme The Jump,[24] where 12 famous people took part in winter sports.[25] As part of each episode, Edwards jumped off the largest of three ski jumps. In the same year he appeared as a guest on the ITV2 comedy show Fake Reaction.

Edwards prior to his first jumps in 15 years at the site of the 1988 Winter Olympics.
Riding Ski Jump lift again 29 years later.

In 2017, he returned to the ski jumping facilities at Canada Olympic Park, where he had taken part in the Olympics in 1988, to make some jumps that were his first in over 15 years.[26]

Biopic
Main article: Eddie the Eagle (film)

A film chronicling the life story of Edwards had been planned by Irish director Declan Lowney since 2007. Comedian Steve Coogan was originally chosen for the title role.[27] Edwards was said to be pleased with the choice but also joked that Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise would be better suited for the role.[9] In 2009, Lowney announced that Rupert Grint would instead play the part. The film was scheduled to begin production once Grint completed work on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2, but it did not go ahead.[28]

On 23 December 2014, it was reported that Gary Barlow was in talks to write the entire soundtrack for the film.[29] On 23 January 2015, it was reported that Edwards might perform the stunts in the movie about his life.[30]

Matthew Vaughn produced and Dexter Fletcher directed the biopic, starring Taron Egerton as Edwards, and Hugh Jackman as his trainer.[31] The film, Eddie the Eagle, was released in early 2016.

gollark: Um, you meant start, right?
gollark: Because parents.
gollark: Holidaying!
gollark: I'm actually within a few miles of the Vatican right now, even.
gollark: So am I!

See also

Bibliography
  • Edwards, Eddie (2016). Eddie the Eagle: My Story. Graymalkin Media. ISBN 9781631680649.

References
  1. Edwards, Michael. "Biography". Eddie the Eagle Official Site. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  2. "Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards". UK After Dinner Speakers and Motivational Speakers. Now You're Talking. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  3. Edwards 2016, Chapter 2.
  4. "Calgary '88 icon Eddie the Eagle returns to carry 2010 Olympic torch". Yahoo! Sports Canada. 1 November 2009. Archived from the original on 3 November 2009.
  5. Macaulay, Sean (25 February 2016). "'Eddie the Eagle's Screenwriter Picks His 10 Favorite Underdog Sports Films of All Time". UPROXX. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  6. Viner, Brian (8 December 2008). "Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards: 'It was while I was in a mental hospital I heard I was in the Olympic team'". The Independent. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  7. Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards – Olympic legend YouTube
  8. "Calgary 1988 Official Report" (PDF). XV Olympic Winter Games Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. 1988. pp. 597–605. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  9. Jeffries, Stuart (3 September 2007). "Flying high". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 September 2007.
  10. "Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards wins over fans at 1988 Winter Olympics". CBC Archives.
  11. Litke, James (29 February 1988). "Golden light extinguished, but memories will live on". Rome News-Tribune (N.Y.). AP.
  12. Pye, Steven (4 February 2014). "Reappraising Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  13. McIntyre, Doug (14 February 2008). "Golden Memories Fired Up!". Calgary Sun. Archived from the original on 23 June 2007. Retrieved 14 February 2008.
  14. Zip-line ride: Global News Calgary (television broadcast), 13 February 2008
  15. James Keller (1 November 2009). "Calgary '88's Eddie the Eagle returns to carry torch". CTV. The Canadian Press he is also said to carry the torch for the 2018 games. Archived from the original on 30 January 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  16. Crowe, Dave; Edward, Eddie (1999). On the Piste. London: Chameleon. ISBN 0-233-99497-1.
  17. by iain martin · 8 February 2019 (8 February 2019). "Episode 30: Skiing in Morocco, Powder Technique, Team GB Medals & Eddie The Eagle Pt2 – The Ski Podcast". Theskipodcast.com. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  18. "Eddie Edwards - Mun Nimeni On Eetu / Eddien Siivellä (1991, Vinyl)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  19. "Eddie the Eagle: 'I went from £6,000 a year to £10,000 an hour'". The Telegraph. 19 February 2012.
  20. "Eddie aims to be legal eagle". BBC News. 17 July 2003.
  21. "Take a look at me now". BBC Sport. 1 March 2001. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  22. "Royal British Legion Band & Corps of Drums Romford Achievements". Royal British Legion Band & Corps of Drums Romford.
  23. Millar, Paul (3 February 2013). "'Splash!' final most-watched Saturday night show". Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  24. "Channel 4's The Jump". Channel 4.
  25. EDWARDS, EDDIE. "Eddie's Jump". Channel 4.
  26. Kassam, Ashifa (6 March 2017). "Eddie 'the Eagle' soars again: ski jumper returns 30 years after Calgary Olympics". The Guardian.
  27. "Coogan to play Eddie 'The Eagle'". BBC News. 8 August 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2007.
  28. Sweeney, Ken (22 November 2009). "The Diary: Irish director makes leap of faith in casting for 'Eagle' biopic". Sunday Tribune. Dublin, Ireland. Archived from the original on 17 February 2010.
  29. "Barlow 'for Eddie The Eagle music'". Belfast Telegraph. 23 December 2014.
  30. "Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards offers to ski jump for biopic". 23 January 2015.
  31. "The Eddie the Eagle Movie Will Be 'Breaking Away Meets Slap Shot'". Empireonline.com.
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