The Eagle has landed...

...he hasn't gone very far. Oh dear, he's fallen.

Almost 22 years have passed since the ever endearing Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards became a global phenomenon and household name.

Mr Magoo ____________ Eddie the Eagle

On doing some further research, it seems Eddie accidentally fell into ski jumping. He narrowly failed to qualify for the downhill event to take part in the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics. This did not deter him and in order to help him fulfill his dream, he moved to Lake Placid to begin intensive training under the watchful eye of professionals. However, funding was not readily available to British Winter Olympians (rather elitist one might say) and things threatened to turn sour.

He was entirely self-funded and money was running low. He wasn't going to give up, he needed to find a cheaper alternative. That is when gallant Eddie switched his attention to Ski-Jumping - not the sort of event one would expect of someone suffering from extreme short-sightedness, but that didn't deter Eddie. Despite fogged glasses and a distinct lack of experience, he managed to qualify against all odds!

At the time of his qualification, he was working as a plasterer and resided in a Finnish mental hospital, not as a patient I should add. The rest is history. He came last in the 70m and 90m events, but he had endeared himself to a worldwide audience and found fortune and glory, commanding commercial fees of up to £10,000 an hour. Bankruptcy followed in 1992 and he was never able to qualify again after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) changed qualification rules to ensure there were no further 'embarrassments'.

The Winter Olympics are upon us again and those plucky Brits are in with a shout for some medals. Ski Jumping qualification kicks off the event on 12th February, followed shortly by the Opening Ceremony. Vancouver is the venue of gallant achievements, victorious performances and broken dreams.

Alpine skiing for Britain has long since been a sore point. The Bell brothers have hung up their skis after a long period of medal less tournaments and Alain Baxter was forced to return his Bronze medal from the slalom event after falling foul of a drugs test, having used a Vicks inhaler. There is a new breed for Britain and the Hove residing Chemmy Alcott is a personal favourite of mine and I shall be watching her religiously.




Bobsleigh has been the event everyone has been talking about after our very own Gillian Cooke suffered a wardrobe malfunction and bared a portion of her buttocks to the watchful audience and press. Cooke and her co-driver Nicola Minichiello are in with a shout of a medal, going into the tournament as reigning world champions in the two-women bob. Let's just hope they have a good crack at it.

Gillian Cooke bares (almost) all

One of my all time favourite moments has to be the first ever gold medal for Australia. This clip is surely the epitome of why you should never, ever give up.

Aussie Gold!


My own experiences in skiing are somewhat limited. Two seperate trips back in the early nineties is as far as I got. Being the tender age of 11 and 12 at the time, I was there for the skiing as opposed to being on the 'piste'. My only visit to Italy, thus far, was via a button lift that dragged me up over snow drifts for 2km after a rather unfortunate tangle of skis at the bottom of it. Apparently you are meant to let go and remount the next 'button'.

Let the games begin!


Quote of the Day: "Skiing is the only sport where you spend an arm and a leg to break an arm and a leg" - Anon

Word of the Day: Labascate - to begin to fall or slip.