News BoardMore News

Future stars named as Team GB announce squad for EYOF 2015

The British Olympic Association (BOA) has today announced the 15 athletes selected to represent Team GB at the Vorarlberg and Liechtenstein 2015...

0 Comments

Full Article

EYOF 2015: A Preview

The Vorarlberg and Liechtenstein 2015 European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF 2015) plays host...

0 Comments

Full Article

8 reasons to follow winter sport this season

As we continue to shine the spotlight on the wonderful world of winter sport, here are eight reasons to be keeping up with all things snow and i...

0 Comments

Full Article

Oslo, Almaty and Beijing confirmed as 2022 Winter Olympic Ca

The race to host the 2022 Olympic Winter Games has taken significant step forward after the International Olympic Committee unanimously agreed t...

0 Comments

Full Article

Sochi success sees winter sport funding doubled until 2018

Great Britain’s record-equalling performances at Sochi 2014 have resulted in a doubling of funding from UK Sport for winter sports over the next...

0 Comments

Full Article

Medal Record

Medal Record
  • Gold
  • Silver
  • Bronze

Biography

Michael Edwards, better known as Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards, is a British skier who was the first competitor to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping. At the time, Edwards was the British ski jumping record holder. A good downhill skier, he narrowly missed out on the GB team for that event for the 1984 Games. To improve his chances to qualify for 1988, he moved to Lake Placid in the US to train and enter races of a higher standard; however, he soon found himself short on funds. To realiSe his Olympic dream he decided to switch to ski jumping for reasons of cost and easier qualification with no other competing British ski jumpers. 

Edwards first represented Great Britain at the 1987 World Championships, and was ranked 55th in the world and this performance qualified him, as the sole British applicant. Edwards was the best ski jumper in the United Kingdom, setting a British record of 73.5 m in one of his Calgary jumps in 1988.