Eddie the Eagle Quotes

"Getting to the Olympic Games was my gold medal."

"I want to be recognised as exemplifying the Olympic spirit - one of the last true Olympians."

"I'm the Eagle: I can fly."

"I've had an operation on my jaw - I don't have the big jaw anymore - and I've also had an operation on my eyes."

"I liked being Eddie the Eagle, but I also like being Michael Edwards, plasterer and general builder."

"I wish they'd build a ski jump at the Grand Canyon; it'd be fantastic."

"Maybe I am a little bit of a clown, but I am also a serious sportsman."

"If you are in your sport for your country, you should be able to go to the Olympic Games and represent your sport for your country bringing people together in the interests of sport. It's a fantastic Olympic ideal, and I uphold it as much as I can."

"People still think I'm a bit of a buffoon - not really an athlete."

"I always do the very best I can, and I should be given the opportunity and the right to represent my country."

"You can't have Alan Partridge as Eddie the Eagle!"

"As a child, I was always getting into risky situations with the potential to hurt myself, but mum and dad never stopped me doing what I wanted to do, and they assumed that if I fell and hurt myself, I would learn from that and maybe not do it again."

"When I plummeted into infamy in the Calgary Olympics, I never thought that a film would be made about my life."

"When I started competing, I was so broke that I had to tie my helmet with a piece of string. On one jump, the string snapped, and my helmet carried on farther than I did. I may have been the first ski jumper ever beaten by his gear."

"It takes a lot of guts to jump. If people criticise, I would give them a set of skis and say, 'Do it yourself then.'"

"It's not been a bad life, and I do know that I could never have been a world champion. All I ever wanted to do was be the best I could with what I had, which wasn't very much, really. And that's what I think I did."

"I want to prove to the skeptics that I'm not a clown. I'm very serious about what I do. I want to be a good ski jumper who has a sense of humor."

"I have never, ever considered myself a failure."

"My brother is 18 months older than me, and my sister is three years younger. I'm the middle one. I was born in Cheltenham, and that's where I grew up."

"No matter how many people say you can't do something, use that as inspiration to prove them wrong."

"Both parents were hard-working and made me work for my pocket money by doing household chores. That taught me the value of money and gave me a strong work ethic."

"The only airline I avoid like the plague is Ryanair. I don't like that, when you book, there are then all of these little extras to pay for, and you end up paying more than just flying with British Airways."

"I was the best ski jumper in the United Kingdom."

"I was a latchkey kid. Every afternoon, I would walk home from school, let myself in, make myself a banana buttie, and watch telly until Mum came home."

"I was an expert skier who set his sights on going to the 1988 Olympics in Canada to represent Britain, and went from novice ramps to the 120-metre jump in five months. That's possible only with utter focus."

"Life is good, and I'm happy, and I don't know that it would be as good if I'd been the winner in Calgary."

"In the right circumstances, terror is good. It makes you focus."

"My dad supported me by working extra hours and giving me a little bit of extra money. He bought my camper van for me so I could go into Europe and drive from competition to competition."

"You have to take the rough with the smooth - that's what ski-jumping is all about. You always expect the worst."

"After my ski jumping career finished, I went back to school to study law, and now I travel between five to 20 times a year doing after-dinner speaking, motivational talks, appearances, openings, TV and radio shows."