Michael Edwards (better known as Eddie Eagle Edwards ); born December 5, 1963 , Cheltenham , Gloucestershire , UK ) - British skier, first UK representative at the Winter Olympics Ski Jumping .
 Eddie Eagle Edwards | |
|---|---|
| personal information | |
| Floor | |
| Full name | Michael edwards |
| Citizenship |  Great Britain |
| Date of Birth | December 5, 1963 (55 years old) |
| Place of Birth | Cheltenham , Gloucestershire , UK |
| Growth | 174 cm |
| Weight | 82 kg |
| Career | |
| Status | completed his career |
| End of career | 2004 year |
| results | |
| world Cup | |
| World Cup debut | 12/30/1986 |
Content
Biography
In 1988, Eddie Edwards represented the UK at the Calgary Winter Olympics in ski jumping. Despite his little experience (by that time he had been training in this sport for only two years) and poor results (in the 1987 World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf he took 58th place among 58 participants), Edwards was included in the Olympic team Great Britain, since his personal record of the jump distance - 71.5 meters, shown at the 87th World Cup, was the national British record [1] .
In 1989, at a competition in Innsbruck, Edwards fell while jumping and suffered a collarbone fracture [1] .
Due to changes in regulations, Edwards was unable to get to the Olympic Games in Albertville (1992) and to the games in Lillehammer (1994) . He made his last attempt in 1998 before the games in Japanese Nagano , but he was again out of luck. He did not qualify, losing just a couple of places to his more successful rivals.
After the end of his sports career, Edwards went into show business. His single “Fly Eddie Fly” was on the British chart Top 50, in Finland he performed Finnish songs “Mun Nimeni on Eeetu” and “Eddien Siivella”. The athlete also wrote an autobiographical book “On The Piste”.
In 2010, Edwards nevertheless took part in the Olympic Games again, although in a different capacity - he was chosen as a torchbearer, and he ran several miles in January 2010, carrying fire that opened the game in Canadian Vancouver .
In April 2016, the biographical film drama " Eddie" The Eagle "was released with Theron Edgerton and Hugh Jackman in the lead roles.
Impact on Olympic Games regulations
After Eddie Edwards participated in the Calgary Winter Olympics, the International Olympic Committee adopted a rule that became known as the "Eddie Eagle Rule" and stated that an athlete applying for participation in the Olympic Games must first prove himself in other international competitions (European Championship or the world) and enter either the top 50 best athletes in these competitions, or among the 30% of the best results in competitions (depending on the number of participants). This new rule blocked the way to the Games for those athletes who, being the best in their homeland, were no good compared to their competitors from other countries.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Jessica Braun. Skispringer Eddie the Eagle: Der Traum vom Fliegen (German) (link not available) . Spiegel Online. Date of treatment November 24, 2012. Archived November 4, 2012.
Links
- Eddie Edwards ( inaccessible link) . Fis. Date of treatment November 24, 2012. Archived March 2, 2009.
- Eddie Edwards - Olympic Statistics at Sports-Reference.com