Eddie Edwards: Eddie the Eagle
The Olympic Games are the pinnacle of sport, the ultimate display of human strength, finesse, agility and dexterity. Athletes vigorously strive to qualify for participation and every two years, winter or summer, the world tunes in for a show of fierce and impassioned competition.
But occasionally, an athlete surfaces who doesn't win over audiences through demonstration of brute force or lightning-fast speed. Instead, it's sometimes an expression of perseverance or conviction in the face of supreme doubt that demands attention.
Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards is one such athlete.
On December 5, 1963, Michael Edwards, who later took on the nickname Eddie, was born in Cheltenham, England. The famous ski jumper enjoyed sports as a child and was fearless in his attempt at any dare, a tendency that resulted in frequent hospital visits.
It wasn't until Eddie was 13 when he first dashed down a hill on skies that he discovered his burning love for the sport. Within three months, he was consumed by skiing and decided to chase it as a career.
Eddie excelled in downhill skiing, narrowly missing selection for Great Britain's 1984 Olympic team. Distraught but unable to quiet his roaring competitive drive, he continued training, hoping he would one day be able to represent his country on the Olympic stage.
But during a rare day off from training in Lake Placid, Eddie learned Great Britain had never sent an athlete to compete in the ski jumping event at the Olympics. In 1986, he gave the sport a shot (or jump) and quickly refocused his efforts.
He had his sights set on becoming Great Britain's first Olympic ski jumper.
Eddie's pursuit of Olympic participation was fraught with challenges. With no ski jumps available in Great Britain, Eddie travelled around Europe in his mother's car to train and compete. A lack of funding meant he was forced to support his athletic aspirations through working odd jobs, including babysitting, cutting grass, working in hotels and cooking.
He couldn't afford proper equipment, either. He wore six pairs of socks to make his second-hand boots fit and used a piece of string to tie on his helmet until the Italian team provided him with adequate head protection.
His nearsightedness meant he had to wear his Coke-bottle-thick glasses on every jump, which would fog without fail midair.
Proper medical care was also beyond his budget. After breaking his jaw, he bypassed medical attention and opted to secure his jaw in place using a pillowcase.
He was so strapped for money at one point that he even took shelter in a Finnish mental health facility, paying £1 per night.
It was here where Eddie learned he had qualified for the 1988 Calgary Olympic Games at the age of 24.
Eddie had been developing a charismatic and vibrant reputation for himself leading up to Calgary. His fan base was growing and his story was spreading. Both significantly snowballed upon his arrival in Canada.
After his luggage had burst, scattering his clothes along the carousel and prompting him to run after them, Eddie got an unexpectedly warm welcome. As he was exiting the Calgary airport, cheerful fans were waiting to greet him. Hoisting up a banner declaring, "Welcome to Calgary, Eddie The Eagle," his fans embraced him and he was elated. But in his characteristically accident-prone manner, he failed to recognize the building's sliding glass doors and collided with them, head on.
Indeed, the name stuck and The Eagle had landed.
Eddie competed in the 70m and 90m ski jumps. Although he jumped to personal bests, which accounted for national records, he finished a distant last in both events.
But it wasn't his results that triggered an avalanche of discussion.
Eddie competed with pride, dignity and honor. He knew he wouldn't win a medal, but he was the underdog people could connect to, much like the Jamaican bobsled team whose story resonated with audiences during the same Calgary Olympics.
Eddie jumped with great spirit and in the process also jumped into the hearts of several viewers.
After his performances, he received standing ovations. Following the 90m event, he was flown first class to Los Angeles where he was a guest on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson alongside Burt Reynolds. Immediately after the Games wrapped, sponsorship deals began pouring in from Vladivar Vodka, Olympus Cameras, Hamlet and Cadbury. He also received 25 wedding proposals from awestruck female fans.
As positive as his reception was, there were rumblings of disapproval.
A German newspaper labelled him a clown, saying his presence at the Games debased the very foundation of the Olympic image. Even The International Olympic Committee (IOC) took action to prevent Eddie from competing at future Olympic Games.
The Eddie the Eagle Rule, which was established in 1990, stipulates that an athlete has to rank in the top 30 per cent of international competitors or among the top 50 competitors in their event to participate at a Games.
Despite the discontent, Eddie returned to Great Britain a hero.
Approximately 10,000 eager fans turned up to London's Heathrow airport to welcome him home. He was endorsed by the public, recorded a Top 50 single called "Fly Eddie Fly" and reportedly earned between £500,000 and £600,000 in 1988 through guest appearances and other sponsorship deals.
However, Eddie's moment of fame faded and in 1992, after his money was mismanaged, he entered involuntary bankruptcy.
Still, the man known for his glasses and goofy-yet-infectious grin holds a treasured place in the memories of those who witnessed his Olympic performance.
In an interview with the Calgary Herald in February 2016, Jerry Joynt, Vice President of the 1988 organizing committee, said: "Eddie humanized our Olympics. He created this unique personality for the Games, that they were fun, they were approachable, and they were for everyone. He was a star."
In a similar interview, also with the Calgary Herald in early 2016, Frank King, chief executive of the Calgary 1988 Games, recalled the day Eddie first took flight during the Olympics: "I remember him smiling, and saying to reporters that day, 'Optimistically, I get a gold medal. Realistically, I get last place. But it could be worse. I could be dead.' It was a sport that not many people knew about, but Eddie made people pay attention. At the end of the day, it's all about contributing to the sport, not about being the best at it."
Canada would honor Eddie by flying him from England to Winnipeg where he was part of the Olympic torch relay preceding the Vancouver 2010 Games.
Now a plasterer, Eddie currently resides in South West England with his wife Sam, whom he married during a 2003 drive-through ceremony in Las Vegas. They have two daughters, Ottilee and Honey.
Eddie the Eagle, a biopic chronicling Eddie's sporting career and for which he lent his old ski jumping gear, has been in the works for a number of years. Steve Coogan and Rupert Grint were at one point attached to the project, but ultimately the role of Eddie went to Welsh actor Taron Egerton. The film is directed by Dexter Fletcher and co-stars Hugh Jackman and Christopher Walken.
~Matthew Pariselli