Eddie the Eagle is a movie that came out in early 2016 and well those who watched loved it. With a rating of 82% rotten tomatoes. 92% of people who watched it said they liked it and I agree. Though it’s hard to believe this is actually a true story.
Michel Edwards or “Eddie the Eagle” was born December 5 1963. Since a very young age he wanted to join the olympics. He worked hard and tried many sports. He joined the downhill ski team in Britain. But they sadly kicked him off of the team.
The start of ski jumping
Eddie still didn’t give up on his dreams and his dad thought he was crazy. His mom supported everything he did. He packed up his stuff and headed to Garmisch- Partenkirchen Germany and began to train. One of the days he went off the 40 meter jump and got injured. He ended up in the hospital for multiple days. After training more and more he got into the 1988 winter olympics in calgary canada.
1988 olympics
Eddie was the first olympic ski jumper from Britain since 1928. He got to the winter olympics and came last place in the 70 meter jump and everyone told him not to do the 90 meter and so he did. He came in last place in that too. But everyone still made him feel like a winner. The crowd cheered him on and congratulated him.
Fun Facts
- Eddie did actually practice on the top of his mom’s car.
- An interviewer asked him what he liked to be called. Eddie Edwards? Eddie the Eagle. He responded with “It doesn’t matter, in the 25 years of my life i’ve been called all sorts of things.
- In a press conference Eddie announced “I’m not deluded. I know there are plenty of athletes more deserving of publicity than me. And I would like to apologise if my silly antics have cast a shadow over their achievements. I also know I was messing around after the 70 meter jump the other day. I was very excited. But I take jumping very seriously. In fact, I love it. I love it very nearly as much as proving people wrong.”
“I had no money, no training facilities, no snow, no ski jumps, no trainer, but I still managed to ski jump for my country – and getting there was my gold medal.”
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/whatever-happened-to-eddie-eagle-britains-most-lovable-ski-jumper-180949438/
https://www.gq.com/story/the-ridiculous-true-story-of-eddie-the-eagle
