Eddie Edwards Biography

He is a real star, the famous participant in the Kalgary Olympiad, the national hero of Britain and the popular character of the tabloids. His song in Finnish became a hit; The book published in England was a fantastic success, and Hollywood dreams of making a film about it. However, the first word that comes to mind when you think about Michael Edwards, nicknamed Eddie Eagle, is a loser.

And, perhaps, this is the most successful loser in the history of world sports. On the way to Michael Edwards, the cherished dream of Olympic gold, there was only one obstacle: he practically did not know how to ski from a springboard. Eddie Eagle took the “honorable” last place at the Olympic Games in the Calgary of the year. Michael was not only absolutely not prepared for such complex competitions, but also did not have proper equipment and sponsorship support.

Glasses with huge lenses and rare antennae even more emphasized his comic image of the woe-napled. Journalists called him “Mr. Maga” - in honor of the blind cartoon hero, who often falls into awkward situations. But the eccentric plasters from Cheltenham did not discourage and willingly told reporters of all the world's largest media the touching history of his life, assuring that he had dreamed of skiing from the springboard since childhood, but he had no opportunity - in the UK this sport is almost absent.

But Eddie was stubborn and persistent. He began to train stubbornly without any equipment and even snow, jumping from two-story buses. And once he decided that he was ready for a real sports battle and turned his eyes to the upcoming Olympics in Calgary.

The rule of Eddie Eagle before the Olympic Games, he took part in only one responsible competition - the world championship of the world in ski jumping, where he took the last place. But this did not shake the confidence of Edwards: a year later, without sponsors, without preparation and weight, 10 kilograms exceeding the weight of the average skier, he packed his suitcases and went to the Canadian Kalgary.

He received a lot of valuable tips from Austrian and French coaches, but since I myself do not speak French or German, most of them simply did not understand and forgot, ”Edwards says their Olympic history. Eddie's arrival in Kalgary was already a tragicomic nature: his bags burst on the luggage tape at the airport, and he himself managed to crash into the glass door, not noticing it.

But such a beginning did not stop him. Michael Edwards still went to start. The most interesting thing began there: among other things, an insurmountable obstacle to the Olympic triumph became strong myopia. Glasses with huge lenses, without which Eddie could not do, constantly stuck in the cold, so the visibility during the jumps was minimal. Watching the video of his performance from the year, it is hard to believe that we are talking about a serious first -class international competition.

Eddie barely kept skiing, and in flight looked like an equalibrist, frantically waving his arms and legs in order to maintain balance. Every time the Briton landed and did not fall, the audience applauded violently. As a result, he did not win medals and did not receive honors, but became famous. Despite his unprofessionalism, insufficient preparation and non-standard performance, some journalists and even athletes defended the woe-novel, seeing in Eddie the manifestation of the true spirit of Olympism with his principle of participation, not victory.

However, the International Olympic Committee did not agree with such an assessment and subjected the behavior of Eddie to the most severe criticism. Moreover, in order to deprive Cheltenham plaster, the opportunity to again take part in games, in the year of the IOC he accepted the so -called “Eddie Orl rule”, which states that any athlete who wants to perform at the Olympics should first take a place in the semifinals of the international competition, which is natural, can only be done with the appropriate level of training.

For Eddie, this actually meant a complete ban on participating in games. Life after the games Eddie was not going to give up and tried a lot of ways to return to the Olympic start first in Albertville, then in Lillehammer. None of his attempts was successful, although he still managed to enlist the financial support of the small Airlines, who agreed to help him take part in the games in Nagano.

But the IOC was categorical, and in the end, Edwards was still forced to come to terms with the inevitable end of his sports career. The world media reacted differently to his behavior: someone frankly made fun of the woe-ski, calling him either a ski paratrooper or a clown, and someone-in particular the British media-paid tribute to his perseverance and devotion to sports.

Eddie gave an interview, gave lectures and even wrote a book about his sports feats. They say that already in the first week after his performance in Kalgary, he earned about thousands of dollars, and by the end of the year this amount grew to thousands of dollars.Realizing that the great sports future will have to be forgotten, Eddie received a lawyer diploma, was a sports agent for some time, but recently decided to return to the origins and again began to work as a plaster in his native village Cheltenham.

He is still acting with penetrated lectures, he likes to be in the spotlight of the press, and his self -confidence can only be envied. The only thing that has changed in his appearance is the branded glasses that disappeared after the laser vision correction. A few months ago, one of the Hollywood producers published plans for the filming of a film dedicated to the only British skier of the jump from the springboard.

Steve Kugan, actor and producer, star of the films “Overseer”, “Around the World in 80 days” and the comedy series “I am Alan Partridge” were approved for the main role. Well, Eddie did not impress the Olympic judges, but won the hearts of ordinary people. A wonderful and awkward bespectacled screech, which has an iron willpower. This is what attracted me in this role, ”Steve Kugan shared his impressions of the future film.

True, Eddie, with his inherent unshakable faith in himself, is not very happy about such a choice for the main role. In one of his recent interviews, he admitted without hesitation that he would prefer to see in the main role of the film dedicated to him at least Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise. Steve Kugan seems to him not a very suitable person primarily because, according to Edwards, he himself is much more famous than the star of the “overseer”.

Even in the room.