Win! The program was mentored by Tom Daley. Inspector Clouseau on Skis. If you are the best in the world you can go to the world championships. On the street, Ill hear, You made the Olympics for me, or I love what you represented. Only occasionally is it, You were a flop, an also-ran, a loser.. The movie sees him have one too many drinks with teammates but the reality was much more sombre. M In 1988, Edwards became the first competitor since 1928 to represent his country in the Olympics and held the British ski jumping record from 1988 to 2001. With little money, he couldnt afford a regular coach once he decided to switch to ski jumping. With Tom Costello, Jo Hartley, Keith Allen, Dickon Tolson. The Opening Ceremony was one of them. In 1988, Edwards became the first competitor since 1928 to . He represented Great Britain at the 1987 World Championships in West Germany, finishing ranked 55th and earning a ticket to Calgary. When the trust went bust in 1991, Edwards declared bankruptcy and sued the trustees for mismanagement. In a moving interview, she reveals how post-natal depression tore them apart before a serious illness drew them together again, Sex scandal rocks top public school as head of the army cadets smashes wine cellar belonging to history teacher who was 'having an affair with his wife', Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Insane moment river of rocks falls onto Malibu Canyon in CA, Mom who lost both sons to fentanyl blasts laughing Biden, Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' In 2021, he was highlighted on the UK version of The Masked Singer as a Rubber Chicken. I dont know. And they said: 'Thats you!' Pondering career possibilities from his Woodchester sofa, he says, I might consider sports law. Though he isnt active in the sport anymore still from time to time, we are successful in capturing a glimpse of the famous personality. In 2021, Michael appeared on The Masked Dancer. He finished last in both the 70m and 90m events. Her acting debut was playing Gretl Von Trapp in a theatre production of 'The Sound Of Music'. Michael Edwards, yes, thats his actual name, made history on a day traditionally seeped in romance, 14 February, to become the first athlete from Great Britain to partake in ski jumping at an Olympic Games. After the Olympics, my relationship with the British Olympic Association plummeted. In 2009, Lowney announced that Rupert Grint would instead play the part. As it was the same place where he had taken part in the Olympics in 1988. Eddie is played by Welsh actor Taron Egerton as an endearing goofball with bad spectacles and a shocking underbite. He made a return visit to Calgary on February 13, 2008, to participate in festivities marking the 20th anniversary of the 1988 Winter Olympics. I got 3 per cent of the profits They are paying me in instalments one payment I received was for 300,000. A new survey by the U.S. EXTRAS Eddie Lacy is a former American football running back who played for the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks. That same year he was a guest on the comedy show Fake Reaction.. A film chronicling the life story of Edwards had been planned by Irish director Declan Lowney since 2007. What athlete wouldnt want to hire a legal eagle? He laughs loudly and gleefully at this, hugging his knees and rocking back and forth. Presumably the producers didnt have an eagle costume to hand. He agrees its desperately sad that he cannot celebrate his second moment in the sun the opening of his biopic with his family intact but, as his whole career has showed, hes not one to be defeated by any kind of failure. On 25 February 2012, he appeared as a competitor on episode 2 of BBC1's Let's Dance for Sport Relief, 2012 and got through to the final on most public votes. As part of each episode, Edwards jumped off the largest of three ski jumps. Image: 20th Century Fox. Thats better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!. The first was when I sold my life story to a national newspaper at the Winter Olympics, Calgary, in 1988. He grew up in working-class Cheltenham, where his mother worked at an aluminum-door factory; and his father, his fathers father and his fathers fathers father were all plasterers. I dont know of a single federation which is not a stuffy old boys club. We dont speak much at the moment. Eddie the Eagle (Michael Edwards) was born on 5 December, 1963 in Cheltenham. People who tuned in to the 88 Winter Olympics saw me grinning and joking, he chirps from his living room couch. It was Edwards back story and character that endeared him to the sporting world and beyond. And soon even got through to the final on most public votes. Edwards was said to be pleased with the choice but also joked that Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise would be better suited for the role. He threw himself into all sorts of celebrity odd jobs with the same abandon that made him hurl himself off 350-foot platforms. He raised 23000.00 for BBC Children in Need by jumping over 10 cars using a ski jump made of scaffolding. Taron Egerton (/ d r t n / EJ-r-tn; born 10 November 1989) is a Welsh actor. Not many people would have made the sacrifices you did to carry out your dream. I was screaming so loudly I could have been mistaken for a patient, he recalls. Add Edwards signature look of thick-lensed glasses, which would steam up in the altitude of the mountains, and perch under additional vision-diminishing pink-rimmed ski goggles, and you have quite the character. src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=674090812743125&ev=PageView&noscript=1"/>. Eddie was, in reality, a decent amateur athlete with a respectable record in downhill skiing. Watch it now on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD. He is a frequent contributor to Smithsonian. Soon after that, in the year 2017, Michael also returned to the Canada Olympic Park to the ski jumping facilities. He also had a central role on British show "The Jump," which sees celebrities tackle winter sports. Your Privacy Rights Totally refreshing to see a sports film focused on something captivating instead of the same old winners and the tiny fractions of time and increments of distance they won by. And so the late Irwin Goodman's single "Mun Nimeni On Eetu" (per Discogs) saw the light of day. Currently, he makes money from speaking engagements. , updated Cementing his down-to-earth persona, Edwards revealed: Once I was making 10,000 for an hour's work but there have been years where my promotional stuff has brought in only a few hundred. Eddie the Eagle, whose real name is Michael Edwards, ski jumped in the 1988 Winter Olympics, becoming the first person to represent Great Britain in the event since 1928. A plethora of other projects include a book called On the Piste: Stories and Tales from the Slopes, and a pop song sung in Finnish entitled "Mun nimeni on Eetu" that reached number two in the nation's charts. In the decades since, his story has been told in the 2015 movie "Eddie the Eagle" (trailer on YouTube) and through other media. Eddie then married Sam Morton in the year 2003. Over the past 25 years, Ive been called all sorts of things.. The failures are the people who never get off their bums. The Eagles career was not an unfettered ascent, or, for that matter, descent. Indeed he is. ichael "Eddie the Eagle" Edwards became an iconic English ski-jumper in the 1980s and his legacy lives on at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. The Flying Plasterer. Mun Nimeni On Eetu reached number two on the Finnish pop charts and Edwards went on tour. If you are the best in your country you should fly the flag for it at the Olympics. I want my life to move on. Also Read:The Exception Ending Explained: What Happened To Mieke At The End Of The War Flick? Edwards had to give up 85% of his net worth to his ex-wife as part of a divorce settlement. He often ate food scavenged from campsite bins sinceMichael had neither a sponsor nor a coach. There was an appearance onThe Tonight Show, a huge non-victory parade in Cheltenham and a sponsorship deal with Eagle Airlines. The financial impact was considerable. Wearing six pairs of socks inside hand-me-down ski boots, he stepped onto the slopes, pushed off down the steep ramp and rag-dolled through the air. Usher, 'Frozen,' Lucki, Jim Irsay's memorabilia exhibit and rock show and more in this week's Superguide. Michael Edwards is famously known as Eddie The Eagle. In 1991 he recorded a single in Finnish entitled "Mun nimeni on Eetu" ("My name is Eetu"), B-sided with "Eddien Siivell" ("On Eddie's Wing") though he does not speak Finnish. He is the recipient of a Golden Globe Award, and has received nominations for a Grammy Award and two British Academy Film Awards.. Born in Birkenhead, England, Egerton began acting at age 15 and graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 2012. . Aberdeen Journals Ltd 2023. Chuck Berghorn is not an Olympic medallist like Jackmans character but he does claim to have trained Eddie in 1986 in Lake Placid. In the US it is still called the Eddie the Eagle Rule. When I started competing, I was so broke that I had to tie my helmet with a piece of string, he says. Short on. 6 Jun. The first, Fly Eddie Fly, was written by Viva Las Vegas lyricist Mort Shuman: The East Germans they got angry / They said I was a clown / But all they want is winning / And they do it with a frown. He lives quietly in the South Cotswolds village of Woodchester14 miles, as the crow flies, from his native Cheltenham. During the 1988 Winter Olympics, he finished last in both the 70 meters and 90 meters events. I just did the best I could with what I had, which wasnt very much, he said. In all, participation dropped 96 . I also have the advertising brochure telling you were coming to town. Edward or Eddie Gallagher is a retired Navy Seals officer who served in the force from 1999-2019. Today the real Eddie has had his jaw surgically fixed and his long-sightedness improved with implants, but he loves the portrayal, having spent time at Pinewood Studios and on location in the German ski report of Garmisch-Partenkirchen advising Egerton on his accent and mannerisms. In the year 2003, he graduated with a law degree. what is eddie the eagle doing now 2021asbury park press classifieds. I cant really youve only got two hours to work with plaster before it sets. So, did that make Eddie who did go bankrupt after the Games into a millionaire? He gained recognition for his starring role as a . He became the first competitor since 1928 to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski Jumping. He had no money, no coach, no equipment and no teamEngland had never competed in the event. LondonsDaily Mailwrote that Edwards has had more plastic surgery than a Nazi war criminal.. , , . . Saw you in Surbiton Surrey England many years ago. Eddie the Eagle. On one jump the string snapped, and my helmet carried on farther than I did. It wiped out everything I had saved from the last 35 years. Review: Is It Worth A Watch? The moment I entered my hotel room, the phone rang, he recalls. The road to fame and name was not easy for him since he was self-funded and had to struggle quite a lot to be on the spot. Undeterred, he switched to ski-jumping when he realised that no one else in the UK competed in the sport and that he would, by default, become the British No 1. Despite carrying a torch in the pre-Olympic relay at the 2010 Vancouver Games, Edwards is something of a pariah in the ski jumping world. However, Michael was declared bankrupt in 1992. In the decades since, his story has been told in the 2015 movie "Eddie the Eagle" (trailer on YouTube) and through other media. Eddie is the plasterer from Stroud, Gloucestershire, who had a Winter Olympic dream and famously realised it by stuffing his four-sizes-too-big ski boots with spare socks, tying his helmet on with string, and mending his own broken jaw by fastening a scrap of ripped-up pillow case around his head. Does he think that perhaps this was the cause of his marriage breakdown? His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. They resented how popular I was., His popularity didnt extend to fellow jumpers. Phil Collins and his ex-wife divorced found new partners then reunited. He was disadvantaged by his weightat about 82kg (181lb, 12st 13lb), more than 9kg (20lb) heavier than the next heaviest competitorand by his lack of financial support for training, being totally self-funded. Kidd, who shot to fame in the 1990s when . I didnt see my divorce coming. Edwards appeared in a number of advertising campaigns, e.g. Butter mountains is the English term for the heaps of surplus butter stored in European countries to maintain artificial price supports. Eddie graduated from De Montfort University in Leicester with a degree in law in 2003. On 13 February 2008, Edwards made a return visit to Calgary to take part in festivities marking the twentieth anniversary of the Games. Eddie, whose real name is Michael Edwards, was the first competitor for 60 years to represent Great Britain in an Olympic ski-jumping competition. - on Jan 27, 2022. in People. He also brought up the rear at 90 meters, though technically he aced out three jumpers who were scratchedone of whom, a Frenchman, failed to show because he had broken a leg on a practice run the day before. While he finished last in the Normal Hill and Large Hill events, the Eagle did hold the British . Starring: Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Christopher Walken. 00:01 GMT 06 Mar 2016 During the summer of 1986, eighteen months before the Olympics, the 22-year-old resolved to take time off from plastering and try his luck and pluck against the worlds top jumpers. Edwards also earned some money from selling his book On the Piste., All the royalties (about 180,000) he received from the movie Eddie The Eagle had to hand over to his wife and daughters after the divorce. Its something we might discuss in the future. November 19, 2021. When he was chasing his Olympic dream, Eddie was so tight for money he would eat and find shelter as cheaply as possible. However, he was propelled into the spotlight when soldiers from his own platoon went public and accused him of several war crimes during a deployment in Iraq. That story has been given the full Hollywood treatment and turned into a family-friendly comedy by British producer Matthew Vaughn and director Dexter Fletcher. In 1986, Edwards relocated to Lake Placid, N.Y. host of the 1980 Winter Olympics to train under American coaches Chuck Berghorn and John Viscome. The film's came out in 2016 and introduced Eddie's story to a new generation. 5. They thought, Hes laughing, hes human. When Edwards laughs, which he often does, he snorts through his nose. The tally for the winner, Olympic legend Matti Nykanen, was 299.1 points from two jumps of 89.5m. English ski-jumper and Olympian, Eddie The Eagle. Post Games, Edwards' Olympic journey continued. 1963. In June 2003, Eddie the Eagle marriedSamantha Morton. In 1991, his song, Mun nimeni on Eetu (Eetus my name), reached #2 in the Finnish Single Charts (1991). I know people want to see brilliance, to watch someone like Usain Bolt run 100m, but what they can actually relate to is Eddie the Eagle.. Benefiting commercially from his experience he told a financial website that he had twice earned 65,000 for a day's work (worth around $100,000 US at the time). Put it this way, his life continues to be full of surprises. For me, just getting [to the Olympics] was my gold medal, he said to the Guardian. His historic jump of 71m at Calgary in the Winter Olympics still puts him sixth on the all-time list of British Ski Jumpers. Im wiped out.. Dublin, Georgia, United States. 12:54 GMT 06 Mar 2016. Sarah Oliver For The Mail On Sunday, Was sleeping in garden shed of marital home after breakdown of marriage, Take a look at us now! is 1.73m (5ft 8in) . And in a final footnote to his Olympic history, Eddie, as a former Olympian, was nominated as a torch-bearer for the London 2012 Games. A film on his life was also made, which was named Eddie The Eagle. Featuring Taron Egerton as Edwards and Hugh Jackman and Christopher Walken as fictional coaches, the movie immortalised the British ski jumper's story for future generations. , . Nevertheless, he declared bankruptcy in 1992, claiming that a trust fund for his earnings was not set up properly. Due to vision problems, Edwards was forced to wear eyeglasses at all times. If youre thinking the story of Eddie the Eagle belongs in Hollywood, youd be correct. by Chege Karomo. Twenty-six years after he (sort of) took to the air at the Olympics, Michael Edwards soars, A quarter century ago British plasterer-turned-ski jumper Michael Edwards made a name for himselfEddie the Eagleby not skiing or jumping very well at the Winter Olympics in Calgary. They thought I was bringing the sport into disrepute, that the worlds attention should be on the winners. From producers of Kingsman: The Secret Service, Eddie the Eagle stars Taron Egerton as Eddie, the loveable underdog with a never say die attitude. Nevertheless, Michael keeps fighting the battles in his life like a warrior and tries to shape everything into positivity the maximum he can. According to CBC,the rule requires Olympic hopefuls to finish in the top half of an international competition. He is not just any Ski Jumper but holds a series of records with himself. I think that was short-sighted, that they should have been delighted at the attention it brought skiing as a whole in the UK.. I think the film shows he dedicated his life to it to an [Olympic] level. How is that a failure? he asks. Sometimes a slice of bread would be what I ate that night. Once I was making 10,000 for an hours work, Eddie said in a 2010 interview. It wasnt so bad, he says. , . He also took part in amateur speed skiing, running at 106.8km/h (66.4mph), and a stunt jumping world record holder for jumping over 6 buses. A photo of Edwards at a film premiere alongside movie stars Hugh Jackman and Taron Egerton in 2016 should give an indication that the now 59-year-olds life continues to be somewhat unusual. The film did take some liberties with certain events. Turning up in Canada as Michael Edwards and leaving as Eddie the Eagle, the Brit has made the most of every opportunity since. Taking to the skies on borrowed skis, Edwards proceeded to come last in both individual disciplines in which he competed. The Unconquering Hero. He had neither a coach nor a sponsor, and often ate food scavenged from campsite bins, carefully sifting waste for scraps to reheat. Michael Edwards, known as Eddie the Eagle, was a British ski-jumper who rose to fame at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. During the 1988 Winter Olympics, Edwards competed in and finished last in both the 70m and 90m events. I had a right to be there., Edwards last competed on the World Cup circuit in 1989; last month he leaptfor the sheer joy of itat a Beat the Eagle juniors competition in Bavaria. The spirit has been lost, not because of the athletes, they are wonderful, it's all the surrounding BS. His 71m jump in the latter event set a British record at the time and still sits in sixth place on the all-time list of British ski jumps. The money didn't last. The world-famous skier - who competed for Great Britain at the 1988 Winter Olympics - became the subject of a film before starring in a number of reality shows. They are both me but its a pretty schizophrenic existence.. In 2014, he was a commentator on the show The Jump! and jumped off the largest of three ski jumps in each episode. Legendary stuntman Eddie Kidd - paralysed for the past 24 years - has hit out at the "horrific" news that his full-time carers are to be replaced. He also says he beat a Frenchman who broke his leg and had to withdraw from the 90m jump. Eventually, he won a settlement and pocketed around 100,000. Lacy lined up for the University of Alabama, where he posted impressive numbers during his final season with the team. I think the only bones I havent broken are my shoulder, hip and thigh, he said to the Guardian. Eddie Edwards? 2 If that meant sleeping in the car, sleeping in cowsheds, sleeping in barns, sleeping in mental hospitals, scraping food out of bins and getting odd jobs here and there, that was what Id do.. Blinking myopically behind the bottle glass of his pink-and-white-rimmed glasses, he told the press: In my case, there are only two kinds of hopeBob Hope and no hope.. Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman co-star in the inspirational true story of Eddie the Eagle, a British ski-jumper whose Olympic performance wins the hearts of fans around the world. This indicates the bald eagle population has continued to increase rapidly since our previous survey. The Journey To The Olympics. I sold the film rights to my life story for 180,000 18 years ago. Edwards became an icon as Eddie the Eagle. Copyright 2022 OtakuKart. But, then they are giving it straight back to the Premier League . I wont see any royalties unless the film makes a crazy amount something like 65 million at the box office so Im not expecting anything other than a resurgence of interest in me and my story, he reveals. But he keeps on interacting with his well-wishers and often makes a presence on screen. Wisely hed never given up his original career as a plasterer and works today in the building trade under his real name of Mike Edwards while promoting the legend of Eddie the Eagle where he can. At the 1988 Calgary Olympics, per Olympics, Michael Edwards placed last in both of his events: the 70 meter and 90 meter ski jumps. Eddie the Eagle is a feelgood film about that classic British stereotype - the plucky loser. Eddie the Eagle stars Jim Broadbent, Iris Berben, Christopher Walken, Hugh Jackman, and Taron Egerton as Michael Edwards. "It opens up so many more avenues to me. The episode, which aired last December, showed that even though Eddie has long ditched Tag's floppy locks in favour of a more distinguished style, he's definitely held on to the good looks. Eddie the Eagle? 3A lawsuit filed by a former Reading solicitor accusing Mayor Eddie Moran of sexually harassing her has been settled. Nor was there anything that could stop him from jumping: Following one botched landing, he continued with his head tied up in a pillowcase toothache-fashion to keep a broken jaw in place. | READ MORE. The movie has attracted a stellar cast including X-Men star Hugh Jackman and Hollywood veteran Christopher Walken, but financially it wont help Eddie the Eagle soar again. He ran with the torch on 7 January 2010 in Winnipeg. Eddie the Eagle is 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) tall. It effectively ended Edwards Olympic career as he unsuccessfully attempted to qualify for the next three Olympics. The film was scheduled to begin production once Grint completed work on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and Part 2, but it did not go ahead. He shields his eyes from the low, fierce English sun and holds forth on his brilliant career. Advertising Notice Finally, something Im good at! he cracks. on television, promoting cars, and commanded fees of 10,000 an hour. The Monster Raving Loony Party, a beyond-the-fringe political group, named Edwards its Minister for Butter Mountains. Many felt I had made a mockery of the sport, Edwards says. Michael made a lot of money after participating in the 1988 Winter Olympics. In 1988, Edwards became the first competitor since 1928 to represent his country in the Olympics and held the British ski jumping record from 1988 to 2001. Edwards said: I havent jumped for a long, long time. Eddie continued: twenty years, I think, 97 was the last time I did any jumping.. In 2003, he graduated from De Montfort University in Leicester with a degree in law. Eddie The Eagle, also known as Michael Edwards, is an English ski-jumper and Olympian. Instead of having 200,000 in the bank I am now down to my last 5,000.. While the comedian did publically state that he had planned to retire from acting by the age of 50, some fans either didn't want to believe it or are still waiting for the actor to make a comeback. On 23 January 2015, it was reported that Edwards might perform the stunts in the movie about his life. what a man guts and determination got him to the Olympics Sometimes Eddie is in demand, sometimes I am Michael Edwards the builder from Stroud, he says. I like being Eddie the Eagle, the life and soul on skis, but off them I am Mike Edwards because I am not on display. In the men's Normal Hill, Edwards scored 69.2 points from two jumps of 55m. Short on talent but long on panache and derring-do, he had no illusions about his ability, no dreams of gold or silver or even bronze. Britains first Olympic ski jumper, whose heroic failure has just been turned into a feelgood Hollywood biopic, has only recently moved out of the garden shed that was his home for seven months during a devastating divorce. Waving wildly to the huge crowd seconds before jumping from the 70m or 90m-long slopes engaged fans on site, while a beaming smile and looking directly into TV cameras on landing safely, enamoured the increasing numbers of viewers at home and around the world. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. By the time Edwards arrived in Calgarywhere the Italian team gave him a new helmet and the Austrians provided his skishe was legendary as the jumper who made it look difficult. In 2003, Edwards graduated from De Montfort University with a degree in law. He got a five-year sponsorship from Eagle Airlines, a small British charter company, to support his attempt to reach the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan, but failed to qualify for those as well. The king of comedy himself, Eddie Murphy, has been off the radar for quite some time now. The worst two years of his life is how he describes 2014-16 as it was during this period he divorced his wife of 13 years, with whom he has two daughters. He didnt break anything and he didnt die trying. The rule was implemented in 1990, between the Calgary and Albertville Games. One of the memorable moments were that his trademark thick glasses would steam up underneath his ski goggles due to the altitude. Michael Edwards is popularly known as Eddie The Eagle, might not be that active in sports now. In 2017, per the CBC, he was back on the Calgary slopes with the Altius Nordic Ski Club, spreading the word of the sport that remains his passion. When he found out he had made the Olympic team for Calgary, Eddie was sleeping in a Finnish mental hospital that rented out beds for 1 a night. Eddie is the everyman who believed against very great odds indeed that he could fly, and with its new biopic Hollywood is finally celebrating what the Olympic authorities disdained in 1988. A lot of people loved me being there, but they said it with a smile on their face. Edwards began jumping under the eye of John Viscome and Chuck Berghorn in Lake Placid, New York, using Berghorn's equipment, although he had to wear six pairs of socks to make the boots fit. She reunited with Shane for the award winning movie . The Devon tourism bureau paid him to appear in an eagle costume. EDDIE THE EAGLE made a sensational North Korea claim long before his appearance on Countryfile as he joked 'we've probably got about 50 nuclear warheads pointing at us'. I remember this vividly, cried then, cried again when I watched the movie. I jumped a personal best in the 90m and set British Olympic records in both the 70m and the 90m. Also learn how He earned most of networth at the age of 57 years old? Bouncing on his sofa, he makes a rare foray into introspection. Edwards became an icon as Eddie the Eagle. Michael Edwards (born 5 December 1963), known as "Eddie the Eagle", is an English ski-jumper and Olympian who in 1988 became the first competitor since 1928 to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping, finishing last in the 70m and 90m events. After all his achievements, a biographical film in his name was also made. Where he was masked as Rubber Chicken, he was the fourth celebrity to be unmasked. Jo (Joanne) Victoria Hartley is an English actress born in Oldham, Lancashire. in 2013 and makes guest appearances on the controversial Channel 4 winter sports show The Jump too. In 1990, the International Olympic Committee imposed a minimum qualifying distance for all World Cup and Olympic ski jumpers. Michael Eddie the Eagle Edwards became an iconic English ski-jumper in the 1980s and his legacy lives on at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Eddie had been obsessed with competing in the Olympics in any sport since he was eight. Its just like when I was training for the Olympics and slept in a cowshed in Switzerland. , . "When I got to Calgary there were these signs up saying, 'Welcome to Calgary, Eddie the Eagle'.