"Where is it written that the Olympics are only for winners?"
"On the street, I'll hear, 'You made the Olympics for me,' or 'I love what you represented.' Only occasionally is it, 'You were a flop, an also-ran, a loser.'"
"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."
"I was a true amateur and embodied what the Olympic spirit is all about. To me, competing was all that mattered."
"I want my life to move on. On the other hand, I can't say no to offers, not when I'm getting £50,000 a year to be Eddie the Eagle."
"I had no money, no training facilities, no snow, no ski jumps, no trainer, but I still managed to ski jump for my country - and getting there was my gold medal."
"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."
"I did a tandem parachute jump when I opened a golf course in Atlanta, Georgia. I jumped out of a plane at 15,000 feet to land on the first tee, and then I played a couple of holes with golfer Arnold Palmer. That was brilliant."
"I wish they'd build a ski jump at the Grand Canyon; it'd be fantastic."
"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."
"If you have got a dream and you've got ambition, then go for it. You know, unless you try, you'll never know."
"Americans are very much 'Win! Win! Win!' In England, we don't give a fig whether you win. It's great if you do, but we appreciate those who don't."
"The failures are the people who never get off their bums."
"In my case, there are only two kinds of hope - Bob Hope and no hope."
"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."
"You can't have Alan Partridge as Eddie the Eagle!"
"I would never think of asking a girl out on the High Street or the disco or at school. But on the ski slope, I would chat to all the girls."
"Getting to the Olympic Games was my gold medal."
"I made my dream come true despite all the obstacles - no money, no training, no skis, no snow."
"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."
"Most people should be given a chance to compete in the Olympic Games."
"I have a big chin. Thick glasses."
"People really aren't interested in the way I look. It's my personality they like."
"I don't want to look like Michael Jackson."
"Some people thought I was bringing the sport down. I don't think so. I was the best and only jumper my country had."
