The World Competes

While we often like to celebrate the successes of athletes like Lindsey Vonn, Apolo Ohno, Michael Phelps, and the like, people that try (and fail) have an appeal as well, perhaps because they’re a lot like us. A few years ago, William Hung became recognized overnight because although he could not sing, he really tried. In 1988, Eddie “the Eagle” Edwards was the William Hung of Olympic ski jumping.

Britain has never won a medal in ski jumping. Prior to 1988, they had never had an Olympic ski jumper in the Olympics. That all changed when Eddie “the Eagle” stepped into the picture. He was the only person to volunteer, so he qualified.

He skied in the 70m and 90m hills, and placed last in both. Although he was a hit with fans, some of the athletes thought that he was making a mockery of the sport. As a result, they passed the “Eddie the Eagle” rule, requiring Olympic participants to be in the top 30% of the sport, or in the top 50. The Eagle was not able to qualify in subsequent Olympics.