Eddie The Eagle - ‘I was Clooney of skiing world’

Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards gives a press conference during the 1988 Winter Olympics. Picture: Getty

Edwards, who was 50 last week, was speaking ahead of his plans to jump again on New Year’s Day in Germany – 25 years after finishing last at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada, and gaining a global following for symbolising the plucky underdog.

The married father of two is planning to jump at Bavaria’s Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany, a World Cup “large hill” event.

He told Germany’s Bild newspaper: “I was like the George Clooney of the ski business. Other athletes were always so stressed and wound up, but I was always relaxed and cheerful, and that meant I had the female fans standing in line to be with me.

“Why not? I was single at the time and did not live the life of a monk.

“I could have had a lot more groupies in my hotel room than I did but, to be honest, I was not up to it. I couldn’t manage that many.

“What was on offer was more than my ability to satisfy.”

He said he knows he was the laughing stock of many but added: “I don’t care. I was the best ski jumper in the United Kingdom.

“It was also clear that I’m was not going to break any records. I was ten pounds heavier than everyone else.

“The athletes then were emaciated to the bone.”

On the prospect of flying again, he said: “Why not? I am fitter than I was then, but the regulations are stricter, the risks of injuries greater.

“Twice I broke my collarbone and had a skull fracture. But otherwise nothing happened. At the end, I could jump 120 yards.”

He now lives with wife Sam and two young daughters in Cheltenham, and travels a lot and lectures about his life on the theme: ‘My Life as Britain’s First and Last Olympic Ski Jumper’.

But he said that he does not want his children following him on to the ski jump, adding: “I taught them skiing – that’s enough.”

Edwards has lived a colourful life since Calgary. He studied for a law degree, and has also worked as a motivational speaker, won a celebrity diving competition on British television and was a torch-bearer at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Now he is hoping to roll back the years, having had eye surgery, and he no longer needs his trademark thick glasses – which could also be a disadvantage.

“It is giving me the opportunity to go off a 410ft ski jump for the first time in almost 18 years,” he said.

“Because I have had eye surgery, I can see where I am going now, so that might cause problems because I might not want to go down the jump.”