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n 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 encourages him, while his father discourages him. As a teen, Eddie gives up his dream of participating in the Summer Games in favour of 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.