A biography for Eddie the Eaglehasn’t been written yet.
“I was a true amateur and embodied what the Olympic spirit is all about. To me, competing was all that mattered.”
“My dentist said my teeth were wearing away at the back because I couldn't bite. My top jaw was broken and brought forward, and my bottom jaw was broken and put back.”
“I liked being Eddie the Eagle, but I also like being Michael Edwards, plasterer and general builder.”
“I actually had huge problems with my glasses steaming up all the time. I had to train very carefully around the limitations caused by wearing them.”
“You can't have Alan Partridge as Eddie the Eagle!”
“I've fractured my skull twice, damaged a kidney, snapped a cruciate ligament in my knee, and broken all manner of bones, including my jaw. And I count myself very lucky it hasn't been worse!”
“There are so many world-class athletes who are great at their sport, but they're so boring. They don't talk, and they can't be interviewed very well.”
“If you have got a dream and you've got ambition, then go for it. You know, unless you try, you'll never know.”
“I've got two daughters of my own, and I loved watching my children grow up.”
“When I was a kid, people kept saying, 'You can't do this, you can't do that,' and I wanted to prove them wrong.”
“You have to take the rough with the smooth - that's what ski-jumping is all about. You always expect the worst.”
“We were not rich by any means. My dad was a plasterer and worked long hours - I hardly ever saw him when I was growing up. He had always gone to work before I woke up, and usually, I would be in bed before he came home.”
“People still think I'm a bit of a buffoon - not really an athlete.”
“I want to prove to the skeptics that I'm not a clown. I'm very serious about what I do. I want to be a good ski jumper who has a sense of humor.”
“I always know that people will only remember me for my efforts in Calgary which, I must admit, seem without doubt to have kept the name alive. But I honestly love law and really hope it can take off for me. I'm going for it.”
“You've got to think life can give you some bad knocks; no matter how hard you're knocked, you've got to get up.”
“I have never, ever considered myself a failure.”
“I like nothing more than walking down a country lane or along a mountain path - it's not proof that there is anything bigger than ourselves, but I feel very much at peace.”
“I don't want to look like Michael Jackson.”
“Life is good, and I'm happy, and I don't know that it would be as good if I'd been the winner in Calgary.”