Eddie the Eagle soars in Winnipeg

Eddie “the Eagle” Edwards has had another shot at Olympic history. This time, he stayed grounded as he ran with the Olympic Flame in Winnipeg, Canada last week.

Edwards was an international torchbearer with the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay. In 1988, Edwards became the first person from the UK to qualify for the Olympic Winter Games in ski jumping.

While working as a plasterer back home, Edwards had to cross the Atlantic to train - with borrowed equipment that was too big. Together with his poor eyesight, Edwards’ unlikely story endeared him to fans in Calgary and around the world.

At the closing ceremony, he was singled out in a speech by the IOC president who said, “At this Games some competitors have won gold, some have broken records and one has even flown like an eagle.” At that moment, 100,000 people in the stadium roared, “Eddie! Eddie!” It was the first time in the history of the Games that an individual athlete had been mentioned in the closing speech.

After the 1988 Games, Edwards enjoyed a varied career in television and music, and in 2008 he returned to Calgary to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Games.

Last week, people honked their horns and shouted encouragement as Edwards passed.

Edwards says carrying the torch was "almost as good" as jumping in Calgary more than 20 years ago. He thanked Canada for including him in the celebrations for the Vancouver Games, which start next month.

Did You Know?

- Although he doesn’t speak the language, Edwards recorded and released songs in Finnish.
- Edwards earned a law degree from De Montfort University in England.
- Edwards was once a stunt-jumping world-record holder.