The founder of the Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, said "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well." A majority seem to agree that trying and failing is more admirable than not trying at all. In reality, though, most people seem only to be interested in the medallist. Well, yes, but if you were to fail spectacularly, be so bad you were good, you might be the exception and there may be some kudos attached. That was what Eddie Edwards was banking on when he took advantage of the slack qualifying rules and became a participant in the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. He surely couldn’t have guessed the extent to which his abject performance would capture the imagination of the world and find him fame and fortune. Finishing last in the 70m and 90m events, he became famous as an example of a plucky underdog and of perseverance and achievement without funding that represents the British bulldog spirit. The maxim proved prophetic, the taking part really did count. It was the making of Eddie.
He’s since made a career off the back of being the worst ski jumper ever to grace the Olympics and he’s more than happy about the outcome. The world took Eddie to it’s heart and embraced his comic attempts to soar like an eagle. It’s not the case that Edwards was a poor sportsman, on the contrary, he was a good downhill skier, just failing to make the cut for the 1984 Olympics and the amateur world No 9 in Speed Skating, clocking up an impressive 171kmph, but even as the British Ski Jumping record holder his distance hardly struck fear into the likes of Matti Nykanen, who were jumping double the distance.
Desperate to take part in the 1988 edition he moved to Lake Placid to train and enter races of a higher standard but soon ran short of funds. He decided to switch to ski jumping which was a cheaper option and there were no other British ski jumpers at the time. He began to train in earnest, coached by Chuck Berghorn, using Berhorn’s equipment, he had to wear several pairs of socks to make the boots fit, he was overweight for the discipline, with no financial support and he was farsighted which meant he had to wear his specs at all times, his glasses fogged up during jumps and he could barely see where he was going. “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” ... But was he afraid of jumping??“Of course I was, there was always a chance that my next jump would be my last, a big chance”.
A film chronicling the life story of Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards had been in the thoughts of Irish director Declan Lowney since 2007 and is about to start production. Comedian, Steve Coogan, was originally cast to play the title role, a choice that pleased Edwards but he was secretly miffed and joked that he was disappointed that Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise were overlooked. Coogan had to drop out because of other commitments, the part will now be played by Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), of Harry Potter’s side kick fame.
“What drove Eddie?” Grint muses. “He was such a character in every respect. In many ways his whole life seemed like a slapstick comedy but he also had complete guts. He would dive headfirst off this massive slope. It’s really dangerous - people do die doing it. He was risking his life to get last place.”
They say god loves a trier, Eddie was certainly that, he may have finished last but he was just as courageous as all the other jumpers, he had a desire and he went for it with his heart and soul, something you don’t get medals for but I reckon he doesn’t really care after all, it’s the taking part that counts.