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Winter Olympics VI - Eddie the Eagle episode artwork

Jan 29, 2026 32 min

Winter Olympics VI - Eddie the Eagle

from The Sporting Almanac Podcast

Winter Olympics Series Episode VI - Eddie the Eagle Michael David Edwards was an unlikely Olympic Ski Jumper, to say the least. Extremely far-sighted, a little on the heavy side and, most devastating of all to his chances in the event, British. But Eddie, as he was dubbed by school friends, was not a man to take no for an answer. His story is not one of success, no podium, no records (British ones aside) - but he became as famous an Olympian as anyone else in Calgary 1988, and captured, to us, what the Olympics is truly about. His presence at the games was not universally appreciated. Criticised as an "Olympic tourist" by some, and as a clown by those bastions of fair play East Germany, he lent his name to new sets of rules that prevented him and other hard working enthusiasts like him from having a realistic chance of qualifying again. But nothing anyone said or can do can remove one undeniable fact about Eddie - that he is an Olympian, and a legend of the games at that. Eddie flies like an Eagle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UAwQ0pe460 Music in the intro is from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com

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Winter Olympics VI - Eddie the Eagle

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