'I only did two 120m ski jumps before Olympic debut' - Eddie the Eagle

Athletes prepare for years, often their whole careers, for an event as defining as an Olympic Games.

But one of Britain's most famous Winter Olympians had just 22 months' preparation before stepping into one of sport's biggest arenas.

Ski jumper Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards only started competing in the sport less than two years before stepping out at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

"I asked the British Ski Federation 'What would I need to do to qualify or to have my name put forward for qualification for Calgary?'" Edwards told BBC Sport's Greatest Underdogs podcast.

"They said, 'You would have to jump 50 metres in a World Cup competition'. I did my very first World Cup competition 10 months after I first put on power jumping skis and I'd actually only done two jumps off a 120-metre ski jump."

Edwards was Britain's first ski jumper to compete at a Winter Olympics, and after finishing last in both events he competed in - the 70m and 90m - he went on to become a cult hero and household name, with his life story even turned into a Hollywood film in 2016.

Born Michael Edwards in Cheltenham, his path to snow sports was through the Gloucestershire Ski Centre where after just three one-hour skiing lessons he was hooked.

As a teenager he competed in Alpine skiing and ski slalom, racing around the UK before getting his licence to compete abroad.

Edwards, now 62, describes himself as "always up for a dare" with the thrilling, adrenaline-pumping sports fitting his profile.

"If anybody ever dared me to do something I would go and do it. Of course skiing and ski jumping was just perfect for that kind of mindset," he said.

But it was something more practical that led him to leave ski racing behind and pursue ski jumping - the cost. Ski jumping cost him £3.50 a day, compared to £200 for skiing.

Aged 22, Edwards was behind his peers who had years of experience and he was repeatedly told by coaches he would not be able to jump very far.

"I kept proving them wrong," he said, as he quickly went from 30-metre jumps to 100 metres.

"The worst thing that people can say to me is 'you can't do it', because that to me is just like a red rag to a bull - I'm thinking 'well I'm going to prove to you that we can do it'."

With no funding from federations, Edwards had to finance it all himself, often competing and training in borrowed or second-hand kit.

His first helmet was attached by string instead of a buckle, his boots were too big and skis not the right fit, while he even resorted to sleeping in a cow shed and eating out of bins during one period training in Lake Placid as money was so tight.

Initial qualification rules from the British Ski Federation stipulated competitors needed to successfully land 50-metre distances to make the Games.

But every time Edwards met a target, the target grew.

"In a way, they were just trying to make me jump further and push me," he said.

"I can see why they were doing it, because I wanted to jump further as well. So it was a nice thing, but eventually, it was only until five weeks before Calgary that I got the letter to say, 'Congratulations, you're going'."

And even when Edwards made it to Calgary he found he was at another disadvantage.

His distinctive style, wearing thick glasses beneath his goggles, helped him stand out further but his glasses often steamed up right before a jump and with no time to wipe them clear. He believes that for about 30% of his jumps he could not see.

"I could just make out which way up I was looking from the snow and the blue sky and I thought, 'Well there's blue up there so I'm supposed to be the right way up', so I was able to land," he added.

"Sometimes on the bigger jumps I could have time to stick my finger up and wipe my glasses as I was flying through the air. It was always an issue."