A biography for Eddie the Eaglehasn’t been written yet.
“That James Bond movie? The one where Bond skis off a cliff, shucks his skis, and parachutes to the ground? That's for me. That's what I want to be. A stuntman in a Bond movie.”
“I've had an operation on my jaw - I don't have the big jaw anymore - and I've also had an operation on my eyes.”
“For me, I was never someone who wanted to hold on to the celebrity image.”
“I was a latchkey kid. Every afternoon, I would walk home from school, let myself in, make myself a banana buttie, and watch telly until Mum came home.”
“I made my dream come true despite all the obstacles - no money, no training, no skis, no snow.”
“Where is it written that the Olympics are only for winners?”
“People really aren't interested in the way I look. It's my personality they like.”
“Ski jumping is just 10 per cent physical, 90 per cent mental. Some people can't do that. It's not just to do with the fear at the top. It takes a lot of guts to go off the top, but it takes 100 times more courage to jump off the end.”
“I was living on a loaf of bread a week.”
“I broke my jaw jumping, and I broke my back and my neck in the downhill. This is normal for me.”
“The press portrayed me as a joke and a clown.”
“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.”
“I want to be recognised as exemplifying the Olympic spirit - one of the last true Olympians.”
“I think the only bones I haven't broken are my shoulder, hip, and thigh.”
“Some people thought I was bringing the sport down. I don't think so. I was the best and only jumper my country had.”
“If there were some people who considered me a joke, I'm sorry about that. But I did not do it for any other reason except that I loved to ski jump, and I had hopes that by my doing it, other people in my country would take up the sport.”
“Getting to the Olympic Games was my gold medal.”
“I always say my first job is my building trade. The rest comes and goes.”
“I always do the very best I can, and I should be given the opportunity and the right to represent my country.”
“I was the best ski jumper in the United Kingdom.”