Ski jumper who was Britain's first Olympic ski jumper says he might look for a sponsor and start training for 2018 Olympics

Eddie "the Eagle" Edwards, Britain's first Olympic ski jumper, believes he is in better shape than when he competed in Calgary 26 years ago and may attempt a comeback at the 2018 winter Games.

Edwards, 50, who set a British ski jump record but finished last in the 70m and 90m men's events at the 1988 winter Olympics in Calgary, said he had not jumped for 17 years. But he is now in Austria, coaching celebrity contestants for Channel 4's winter sports show The Jump, and said he fancied trying the 125m jump.

"I'm lighter now than when I went to the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, so I'm actually in better shape," Edwards told the Radio Times.

"It's possible that I could jump further than I did 26 years ago.

"If I jump well in Austria I might start looking for a sponsor and start training for the next Olympics in 2018."

Edwards is coaching contestants including the former England cricketer Darren Gough, five-time Olympic rowing gold medallist Sir Steve Redgrave, and the singer Sinitta to ski jump for The Jump, which starts on Channel 4 on Sunday.

In the Radio Times he also offered advice to would-be ski jumpers, including "prepare for pain", keep calm while you accelerate to "frightening" speeds, and be "well balanced" at take-off.

"You'll be 100ft [30 metres] up, and when you let go of the bar your skis go into a set of tracks so you can't stop or slow down – you just go faster and faster," he said. "You could reach speeds of 40mph, so you've got to overcome the fear of going faster than you really want to go."