For many once a joke figure of the sport, former Olympic ski-jumper Michael 'Eddie the Eagle' Edwards says the struggles he went through to be able to compete for Great Britain were no laughing matter.
Joining Off The Ball's Joe Molloy to recap his incredible life and career, Edwards said that in the 20 months between him picking up the sport and competing in the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Galgary, Canada, he put his body through tremendous trauma in an attempt to be an Olympian.
"I fractured my skull twice, I broke my jaw, broke my collar bone, smashed my collar bone, broke three ribs, damaged my kidney, damaged my knee, damaged my ribs and all sorts of stuff".
"Most jumpers don't get on a 90m until at least eight, nine, ten years, and I did it after about 10 months".
Edwards became the first competitor to represent Great Britain since 1928 when he finished last in the both 70m and 90m jumps in Calgary, Canada. However, instead of being embarrassed by his performances, he drew great pride in the strides he took so soon after beginning the sport.
"When I was at Calgary I'd been jumping for 20 months, everyone else there had been jumping for 25 years. I was still very, very much still a beginner".
Despite finishing last by a clear distance in both events, 'Eddie' became a fan favourite at the games and back in England, eventually securing lucrative sponsorship and commercial deals, as well as retaining his cult figure status in the subsequent decades, with a Hollywood biopic of his life being released as recent as 2016.
In 1990 the International Olympic Committee created what has since been referred to as the 'Eddie the Eagle Rule', which tightened qualification restrictions for future events and Eddie was never seen competing at an Olympics ever again.
Edwards, who at one point was the ninth fastest amateur speed skier in the world before changing codes to ski jumping, has had an incredible life since the '88 games. Attempting to qualify for the next two Olympics, experiencing worldwide fame, filing for bankruptcy, winning a lawsuit against those he blamed for mismanagement of his earnings before graduating university with a degree in law of his own, to this day he still works as a plasterer, though under the name Michael and not his well known moniker.
You can find the entire chat here on our podcast page.
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