Plot

The story of Eddie Edwards, the notoriously tenacious British underdog ski jumper who charmed the world at the 1988 Winter Olympics.

Eddie the Eagle is a feel-good story inspired by true events, about Michael "Eddie" Edwards (Taron Egerton), an unlikely but courageous British ski-jumper who never stopped believing in himself--even as an entire nation was counting him out. With the help of a rebellious and charismatic coach (Hugh Jackman), Eddie takes on the establishment and wins the hearts of sports fans around the world by making an improbable and historic showing at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. From producers of Kingsman: The Secret Service, Eddie the Eagle stars Taron Egerton as Eddie, the loveable underdog with a never say die attitude.—20th Century Fox

In 1973, 10-year-old Eddie Edwards dreams of Olympic glory, practicing in various Olympic events and failing miserably. His mother unconditionally supports him, while his father constantly discourages him. As a young teen, he gives up his dream of participating in the Summer Games in favor of skiing in the Winter Games. Although successful at the sport, he is rejected by British Olympic officials for being uncouth. Realizing he could make the team as a ski jumper (a sport in which the United Kingdom had not participated in six decades), he decamps to a training facility in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The more seasoned jumpers, specifically those on the Norwegian team, belittle him.

A semi-fictional account of the rise to fame of Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards is told, he, since a young age, whose aspiration to be an Olympian far stronger than the odds against him in not being very athletic, not being very coordinated, being nearsighted, and not having the meaningful support, financial or otherwise, to achieve the goal, besides the emotional support of his mother who did not want to burst the dreams of a child. By 1987, at 22, he managed to teach himself an Olympic sport which he performed adequately, namely downhill skiing. Regardless, he is told by the British Olympic Committee that he would not only not make the 1988 British Olympic ski team, this the one and only year he would even have a shot in being prime age, but that he never would in just not having enough inherent talent as an athlete. In learning that the Brits are not and have not fielded a team since the 1920s and that under existing British Olympic Committee rules he would only need to have completed a sanctioned competition to qualify, Eddie decides instead to change sports to make it into the 1988 Winter Olympics despite never haven participated in the sport at all before: ski jumping, he traveling to Garmisch, Germany to learn how to do it. Added to the list of positives fighting the odds against is the needed attribute of fearlessness. Unlike the self teaching he has done before with skiing and other sports, Eddie quickly discovers that that will only take him so far in not even being able to jump the smaller Olympic hill, the 70m, without that help. He is able to secure a "coach" of sorts, Bronson Peary, despite Bronson not totally agreeing with Eddie's motives. Bronson is a black sheep like Eddie in being an American ex-jumper from the 1970s who fell out of favor with the sport's establishment, including his then coach Warren Sharp, Bronson now an alcoholic and piste driver at Garmisch, where no one except the all knowing Petra, a server at a local bar, knows his truth. But with every step forward Eddie and Bronson are able to take, they hit one wall after another, from the British Olympic Committee, other athletes, especially members of the British Olympic team and other ski jumpers, and his father, who only wants him to focus on a real life and not an unachievable pipe dream.—Huggo

Cheltenham, U.K., 1973. More than anything, Eddie Edwards, a 10-year-old blue-collar weakling, wants to be an Olympian. And in 1987, at 22, Eddie finally gets a chance to make his ambitious dream come true when the plucky boy makes his way to the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada. By tackling the big jumps with the help of coach Warren Sharp's former U.S. ski-jumping champion Bronson Peary, Edwards becomes the first British ski jumper to compete in the games since the 1920s. Inexperienced, underfinanced, ill-equipped, and ill-prepared, the courageous underdog athlete enters the make-or-break 90-metre jump for the first time and writes history as Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards.—Nick Riganas

In 1973, after a long period of medical treatment for walking difficulties, ten-year-old Michael "Eddie" Edwards dreams of Olympic glory, trying his hand at various Olympic events and failing. His mother supports him, while his father does not. As a teen, Eddie tries his dream of participating in the Summer Games, and when that fails, he tries out skiing in the Winter Games. Although skilled at the sport, he is rejected by British Olympic officials for being uncouth. Realising he could make the team as a ski jumper (a sport which the United Kingdom has not participated in for six decades), Eddie decamps to a training facility in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, West Germany, where the more seasoned jumpers belittle him.

Eddie self-trains, and after successfully completing the 15-metre (49 ft) hill on his first try, he injures himself on his first attempt at a 40-metre (130 ft) slope. Alcoholic snow groomer Bronson Peary advises Eddie to give up, but Eddie's tenacious spirit and a shared sense of being an outsider convince Bronson to train Eddie. Peary is an American former champion ski jumper who left the sport after a conflict with his mentor, Warren Sharp, as Eddie learns from Petra, a cafe owner who takes him in. With very little time to qualify for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Eddie and Bronson employ various unorthodox methods to refine Eddie's form, and he successfully completes the 40m jump.

To qualify for the British Olympic division in ski jumping, Eddie must complete a jump from a 70-metre (230 ft) hill. He manages to land the jump successfully, with a distance of 34 metres (112 ft), thus earning a place on the British Olympic Team. In an effort to keep Eddie from sullying the Winter Games with his amateurish skillset, the officials change their criteria and demand that he jump at least 61 metres (200 ft). Eddie decides to continue training and performs on a circuit, his jumps increasing in length each time.

While practicing for the final event before the cutoff date for qualification, Eddie lands a 61m jump exactly, but misses the mark on his official jump and is disqualified. Eddie is about to return home when he receives a letter stating that his qualifying practice jump is valid. Bronson advises Eddie wait until the 1992 games and train for the next four years to give himself a better chance of winning a medal, concerned that he will embarrass himself and his country if he goes ahead, but Eddie is undeterred.

Upon arriving in Calgary, Eddie is scorned by the other British competitors, who get him drunk so that he fails to attend the opening ceremonies. Despite finishing last in the 70m jump with 60.5 metres (198 ft), Eddie sets a British record. His triumphant celebrations win the audience over, and the media embrace him as Eddie "The Eagle". Over the phone, Bronson criticizes Edwards for not taking the sport seriously. Edwards publicly apologises for his behavior and, wanting to ensure he does not leave the games without recognition, he enters the 90-metre (300 ft) jump, which he has never attempted before. Bronson now travels to the games to support him.

After an encouraging conversation with his idol Matti "The Flying Finn" Nykänen on the lift to the top of the hill (he says that Eddie represents the "Spirit" of what the Olympic Games should be), Eddie miraculously lands a 71.5-metre (235 ft) jump. Once again, he comes last in the event, but is nonetheless cheered by the audience and TV viewers worldwide, which earns him recognition in the closing speech of the President of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, Frank King. British Olympic officials grudgingly accept him. Warren Sharp reconciles with Bronson, and Edwards returns home a national hero, welcomed by fans at the airport, as well as his mother and father; the latter reveals he is wearing a jumper that says "I'm Eddie's dad," and says he is proud of him.