IF you have tears, get ready to shed them.
Eddie the Eagle landed in cinemas last week — and amid the laughs and Eighties
nostalgia is an affectionate portrait of the world’s most famous ski jumper.
Eddie may have lost at Calgary’s Winter Olympics in 1988 — setting the bar for
the rest of his career — but nearly 30 years on, can anyone remember the
name of the winner?
Eddie said at the premiere of the film, which stars Kingsman actor Taron
Egerton as Eddie and Hugh Jackman as his coach: “I’ve cried each time I’ve
seen it.
“Just for the little memories it brings back — like the tin my mum gave me,
which I ended up keeping my broken glasses in.
“I hadn’t heard of Taron when they mentioned him. But I met him at Pinewood
Studios — he wanted to see my mannerisms, hear my accent. The next time I
saw him it was like looking in a mirror.”
But he adds that he never had a coach as good-looking as Hugh Jackman. Nor did
he even have one steady mentor. He couldn’t afford it. Instead, he took
lessons from whoever he could find, ranging from a 12-year-old Norwegian boy
to an 86-year old alcoholic.
Any other artistic licence? Eddie says: “My dad was just as supportive as my
mum. Not grumpy like in the film. He did all he could to support my skiing.
He was a builder and took on extra jobs.”
And now Eddie wants to share some of that enthusiasm and get British kids back
on skis.
He says: “I can still remember my first time — Gloucester Ski Centre, November
3, 1976. It was a wooden shed, basically, in the middle of a car park.” It
was preparation for a school trip to Andalo in Italy. Before health and
safety concerns all but killed off school trips, this was how a generation
of Brits learned to ski. But not all became as obsessed as Eddie.
He recalls: “Soon I’d be down there every Saturday morning. Then that became
all day Saturday. Then all weekend, then every night after school.”
Aspiring Eagles can do the same today. Gloucester Ski Centre is still there
and more than just a wooden shed. There are rails, bumps and other
obstacles, although no ski jump as yet. And still no white stuff, unlike the
indoor centres such as The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead, Herts, or Chill
Factore in Manchester.
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EDDIE
‘The Eagle’ Edwards has landed once more
Eddie’s story has a happy ending but the course has been far from smooth.
He was the last Brit, he says, to compete on the Olympic ideal of sporting
amateurism. He qualified for the Games on merit — there were no wild cards
in those days.
But when heroic failure brought him more fame than the winners got it put a
few noses out of joint.
Critics said he was making a mockery of the sport, so the Olympic Committee
tightened the entrance criteria and the ski establishment was reluctant to
use Eddie as a spur to get more people into the sport. Which is a shame as
he is the ultimate enthusiast.
I ask where his favourite place to ski is and it truly seems not to matter.
The ace says: “So long as I’ve got my skis on I’m happy. Gloucester Ski
Centre, Hemel Hempstead, Borovets. I don’t care if there’s only one run
open, I’ll ski that all day and do it 300 different ways.”
But surely Canada holds a special place in his heart? Would his story have
made it past the first page without the can-do Canadian attitude?
He says: “I’m biased but I do think Calgary was the best Games ever, the last
example of that true Olympic spirit.”
This is the second film to come from it. Cool Runnings, out in 1993, about the
Jamaican bobsled team, has a similar feelgood narrative.
And Eddie still enjoys skiing in Canada — Banff and Lake Louise especially,
which hosted Alpine Skiing events at the 1988 Games.
You can still visit the Olympic Park in Calgary. I stared down its ski jump
many years ago. And if you were in any doubt, believe me — you need balls of
steel to go off that thing.
No wonder Eddie has struggled to find anything that gives him the same buzz.
Not parachuting, car racing or even winning ITV’s celebrity diving show
Splash! in 2013.
Eddie strapped his skis on again in January for a charity jump in France. At
173ft it was some way short of his personal best of 392ft. And shorter
still, of Matti Nykanen’s 751ft jump in 1988.
Not to give away spoilers but it was the Finn who took double gold in Calgary.
There is, however, no Nykanen biopic in the pipeline. Eddie won hearts and
minds if not medals.
Soar in tracks of ace
CANADIANS have done a good job updating the Olympic Park in Calgary.
Athletes still use it for training but there is plenty for regular punters
too.
Get a feel for Eddie’s bravery by flying off the jump tower yourself, though
thankfully not on skis – it is now the fastest zipline in North America.
You can clock up to 74mph after taking in the fantastic view.
There is the Winter Olympic bobsled course too, where a professional driver
will zoom you through at a pull of up to 4G.
There is even a bit of skiing and boarding, although if you are on your way to
the Rockies (as most visitors will be), there is plenty more of that in
store.
Head to for
prices.
Go: Calgary/Banff
GETTING THERE/STAYING THERE: A late season break in Canada is from
£1,299 with Ski Safari. You get seven nights’ B&B at the 3
star Mount Royal in Banff and a night at the 3 star Acclaim Calgary, with
car hire, leaving on April 16. For details see
or call 01273 224 060.
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