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Winter Games Day -8
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The Calgary Winter Olympics in 1998 are most remembered for two things. The Jamaican bobsleigh team. And Eddie the Eagle.
Eddie Edwards. National treasure and, possibly, our best known Winter Olympian?
Eddied represented GB at the 1987 World Championships, and was ranked 55th in the world. This qualified him for the 1988 Winter Olympics (keep that "55th" in mind for a minute).
At Calgary, Eddie came last in both the 70m and 90m events. And, in doing so, he became a legend. At the closing ceremony, the president of the Olympic Organizing Committee said ... "At these Games, some competitors have won gold, some have broken records, and some of you have even soared like an eagle" ... clearly a reference to Eddie.
So why did Eddie not jump again? Everyone loved Eddie. Except, apparently, the International Olympic Committee, who introduced a rule that requires Olympic hopefuls to be ranked in the world's top 50 (!)
As a result, Eddie couldn't qualify for the 1992 Games (Albertville) or the 1994 Games (Lillehammer) or the 1998 Games (Nagano).
And that is why the International Olympic Committee should be regarded as a collection of the biggest prats on the planet. That, and their decision to hold the Summer Games in Atlanta in 1996.
Anyway, I will post below a clip of Eddie in action.
Eddie Edwards. National treasure and, possibly, our best known Winter Olympian?
Eddied represented GB at the 1987 World Championships, and was ranked 55th in the world. This qualified him for the 1988 Winter Olympics (keep that "55th" in mind for a minute).
At Calgary, Eddie came last in both the 70m and 90m events. And, in doing so, he became a legend. At the closing ceremony, the president of the Olympic Organizing Committee said ... "At these Games, some competitors have won gold, some have broken records, and some of you have even soared like an eagle" ... clearly a reference to Eddie.
So why did Eddie not jump again? Everyone loved Eddie. Except, apparently, the International Olympic Committee, who introduced a rule that requires Olympic hopefuls to be ranked in the world's top 50 (!)
As a result, Eddie couldn't qualify for the 1992 Games (Albertville) or the 1994 Games (Lillehammer) or the 1998 Games (Nagano).
And that is why the International Olympic Committee should be regarded as a collection of the biggest prats on the planet. That, and their decision to hold the Summer Games in Atlanta in 1996.
Anyway, I will post below a clip of Eddie in action.
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Yes. Cool Runnings was based on the 1988 Calgary story.
The crash in the movie was incredibly like the actual crash. Actually,must thinking about it ... did they use the actual footage from the Olympics? I'm not sure.
They did finish the course, like in the movie, but they pushed the sled, not carried it.
Hang on, let's see if there's a clip on YouTube ...
The crash in the movie was incredibly like the actual crash. Actually,must thinking about it ... did they use the actual footage from the Olympics? I'm not sure.
They did finish the course, like in the movie, but they pushed the sled, not carried it.
Hang on, let's see if there's a clip on YouTube ...
Today's "One For The Boys" is Austrian skier, Anna Fenninger. Anna gained automatic qualification for Sochi when she won the Super Giant Slalom World Cup in December. She was voted the Austrian Sportswoman Of The Year last year. She's a formidable skier.
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