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

Where is it written that the Olympics are only for winners?

Resilience can go an awful long way.

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.

Getting to the Olympic Games was my gold medal.

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

I'm the Eagle: I can fly.

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.

I made my dream come true despite all the obstacles - no money, no training, no skis, no snow.

I've never really let any kind of negative things affect me, generally. I would take a positive out of the most desperately horrible situation.

In my case, there are only two kinds of hope - Bob Hope and no hope.

That James Bond movie? The one where Bond skis off a cliff, shucks his skis, and parachutes to the ground? That's for me. That's what I want to be. A stuntman in a Bond movie.

If there were some people who considered me a joke, I'm sorry about that. But I did not do it for any other reason except that I loved to ski jump, and I had hopes that by my doing it, other people in my country would take up the sport.

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.

If you have got a dream and you've got ambition, then go for it. You know, unless you try, you'll never know.

I was a true amateur and embodied what the Olympic spirit is all about. To me, competing was all that mattered.

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 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.

When I was a kid, people kept saying, 'You can't do this, you can't do that,' and I wanted to prove them wrong.

I receive kindness every day. I love to smile when I'm out and about, and if someone smiles back, which happens about half the time, I think that's an act of kindness every couple of minutes in my day.

I actually had huge problems with my glasses steaming up all the time. I had to train very carefully around the limitations caused by wearing them.

Some people thought I wasn't taking the sport seriously because I was always laughing and having fun, but I loved my skiing, I loved my jumping, and I thought, 'Well, why not have a smile on my face when I'm doing something that I really, really love doing,' and that's how I was.

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

For all my 'Eddie the Eagle' goofing around before the camera while in training for the Calgary Olympics in 1988, I was never less than 100 per cent serious on every single jump.

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

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

Most people should be given a chance to compete in the Olympic Games.

People seemed to appreciate how much I wanted to pursue something I loved. They seemed to understand how much ski jumping meant to me.

I like nothing more than walking down a country lane or along a mountain path - it's not proof that there is anything bigger than ourselves, but I feel very much at peace.

I have never, ever considered myself a failure.

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.'

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.'

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.

It's nice and restful, plastering.

I'm a positive person who likes to have fun and get the best out of every day.

The worst thing that happened to me as a child was seeing my brother get pushed into a cement mixer.

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

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.

My mother looked after me full-time when I was young, but as soon as I started school, she got a job in an office.

It was while I was in the mental hospital that I got my letter from the British Olympic Association saying, 'Congratulations. You've been picked to go to the Olympic Games.' I kept stressing I wasn't a patient.

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.

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.

The failures are the people who never get off their bums.

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.

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 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.