Great Britain’s most famous Winter Olympian Michael ‘Eddie the Eagle’ Edwards reflects on his journey to the 1988 Calgary games.
Edwards, born and raised in Cheltenham, reveals one of the many setbacks he had to overcame in his pursuit of ski success.
A then-Alpine skier, the 58-year-old was beginning to make a name for himself in the downhill scene, earning himself a place in the England setup.
”I won a major competition here at Gloucester Ski Centre and I beat all the Welsh team and all the England team,” Edwards told Park Life Sport. ”Then the England selector said ‘would you like to come onto the England camp’ which was held [in Gloucester].”
However, his time on the squad was short-lived, to say the least, as he didn’t make it past day one of the camp.
”So, I started training with them, but after the first morning, the selector came along and said ‘I’m sorry but I’m going to have to kick you off the squad. You’ll have to go home!’
”It was because the manager here at the time told [him] that I was abusing the privileges the ski centre had given me over the years.
Little did the manager at the time know that, years later, the ski centre’s café would be named after the man he had made an effort to halt the progress of.
”Because I was the best skier here people used to come to me and say ‘could you watch me and see what I’m doing wrong,’ the ex-ski jumper added. ”I’d say ‘yeah no problem, if you do this or that it’ll be a lot easier’ but the manager was saying ‘if people come to [me], tell them to go and have a lesson’.
”That then sewed the seed for my anti-establishment [attitude]. I do not like federations, organisations or associations!’’
