THE CANADIAN PRESS
CALGARY — Steve Edwards was an unlikely candidate to become one of the heroes at the 1988 Calgary Olympics.
Dubbed "Eddie the Eagle," he captured the imagination of those watching when he became the first British man to compete in ski jumping at the Games.
Short on talent and experience, he’d been jumping for just two years at the time, his humour and constant smile had 85,000 onlookers chanting his name.
"It was a dream of mine to come to the Olympic Games," he recalled Wednesday, after returning to Calgary for the 20th anniversary of the ’88 Olympics. "I made it to Calgary against all the odds. I got there and made my dream come true.
"Even though I came 58th, I didn’t come last. I beat a Frenchman. He broke his leg the day before. I’m going to take it because he’s French," he said, laughing.
Now 44, Eddie the Eagle was back soaring — sort of — Wednesday as he and 43-year-old Devon Harris, a member of the original four-man Jamaican bobsled team, took flight from the 90-metre ski jump tower used in 1988.
But this time they went side-by-side down the Skyline, a zipline that reaches speeds of 140 km/h and emulates the feeling of a ski jump.
"As I was coming down I was thinking I wish this was here 20 years ago. I could probably have jumped twice as far as I did back then," Edwards chuckled.
It was the Eddie the Eagle’s personality and the antics of the Jamaican bobsled team that many people remember among the highlights of the 1988 Olympic Games.
The bobsled team made its debut in Calgary while the Jamaicans went on to compete in Albertville in 1992. They inspired the 1993 movie "Cool Runnings," starring the late John Candy.
"I cannot forget coming down the run — crashing in a way so spectacular only Jamaicans could," said Harris. "I’m thinking to myself how embarrassing — here I was failing on the biggest stage of the world but I walked away from that experience realizing that failure isn’t the end of the world. We didn’t win a medal but we had a chance to touch the hearts of millions."
Stories like his and the Jamaican bobsled team don’t happen any more, lamented Edwards. He never competed again thanks to the "Eddie the Eagle" rule instituted by the IOC in 1990, that required athletes to place among the top 50 in international events.
"They took the wrong end of the stick and imposed these new rules. I wasn’t going to set the world alight with my ski jumping but I promoted the sport in my own way," said Edwards. "People in charge didn’t like it and wanted to make sure characters like me weren’t going to take part in the Olympics.
"I think it’s wrong. I don’t think it matters if you’re number one in the world or 50,000th in the world," he added. "Now it’s becoming more of a glorified world championship and it’s lost a lot of its appeal to a certain degree. I think the Olympics still has room for characters and they’ve taken all the characters out and it’s a shame really."
.Edwards, who works as a home builder in the United Kingdom these days, and Harris, now a motivational speaker, were both given white cowboy hats by Mayor Dave Bronconnier. The hats are awarded to dignitaries as a sign of Calgary hospitality.
After putting on the hat, Eddie quipped "where’s my horse?"
About 500 Calgarians, many wearing souvenir clothing and jackets from 1988, joined Edwards at an evening celebration at Canada Olympic Park.
A large stage, with a giant Canadian flag, served as the focal point for the festivities where past Olympians including Elizabeth Manley, Brian Orser, Gaetan Boucher, Catriona Lemay Doan, Karen Percy and other members of the Jamaican bobsled team were on hand.
Edwards led a procession of Olympians, all carrying lights, down the ski hill. A backdrop of criss-crossing fireworks continued until they arrived at the bottom of the run.