Michael Edwards, nicknamed “Eddie the Eagle,” was the first British Olympic athlete to compete in ski jumping, taking flight at the 1988 Calgary Olympics.

British Olympic officials tried to impede Edwards’ Olympic pursuit, with some even labeling him an embarrassment.

But the Olympic ski jumper wanted to prove people wrong, he said.

Edwards’ underdog legacy reflects the grit of many overlooked athletes.

Some athletes are disregarded in track and field, since the track events often overshadow field competitions.

But the Bruins’ field unit took center stage on Friday and Saturday.

UCLA men’s track and field sent 15 field athletes, compared to just three track competitors, to the Beach Opener in Long Beach, California, from Friday to Saturday. The meet marked the Bruins’ first outdoor competition of the 2026 campaign.

UCLA Athletics has yet to provide interview availability with players or the coach at the time of publication.

Junior jumper Hannah Slover notched a standout high-jump performance Saturday morning, winning the high jump with a 1.73-meter performance and receiving her first collegiate gold medal.

The Los Gatos, California, local transferred from UC Santa Barbara ahead of the 2024 season, but only competed in one event for UCLA up until the 2026 campaign. Before arriving in Westwood halfway through her freshman year, Slover was on the Gauchos’ volleyball team, which was her primary sport throughout high school.

The junior, who didn’t compete last season, has now competed in four events this year, including when she joined the Bruin squad that went to the Big Ten Indoor championships, where she placed 14th with a 1.70-meter jump in the high jump.

Sophomore jumper Amia Witt posted a 1.66-meter outing to place behind Slover and claim second place.

Multis graduate student Sydney Johnson claimed the Bruins’ only other first-place medal at the Beach Opener, recording a 6.18-meter performance in the women’s long jump Saturday.

Coach Joanna Hayes entered Johnson in the Bruins’ inaugural outdoor meet after the graduate student failed to qualify for the Indoor NCAA championships, since Johnson’s season-high long-jump outing placed her at 27th in the nation, 11 spots away from the 16th-place threshold needed to clinch a championship bid.

Freshman sprinter/jumper Dior Scholz, a Gold Coast, Australia, local, competed in the women’s long jump alongside Johnson. Scholz made her UCLA debut Saturday and placed fourth with a 5.50-meter jump.

Senior jumper Mackenzie Kirk and graduate student thrower Maya Rush earned additional podium spots in the women’s triple jump and women’s javelin, respectively. Kirk jumped 12.45 meters to secure third place Saturday, while Rush threw 46.51 meters to claim the same placement Friday afternoon.

Two athletes on the men’s squad also achieved bronze, with sophomore thrower Derek Smith and senior jumper Terrence Sweetman achieving third-place finishes in the men’s shot put and men’s triple jump, respectively.

Smith also competed in the men’s discus on Friday alongside throwing teammate junior Jake Stafford, where the former earned a fourth-place mark with a 52.47-meter throw, and the latter placed fifth with a throw just 0.02 meters behind Smith’s.

Although the rest of the men’s team failed to reach the podium at the Beach Opener, several came close.

Redshirt sophomore jumper and North Dakota State transfer Michael Haugo covered 7.25 meters Saturday – good for his second-longest jump this year – in the men’s long jump to place fourth, while senior jumper Leon Gillis launched himself to a 1.91-meter men’s high jump performance to also earn fourth.

Fellow jumpers graduate student Gavin Champ and freshman Nicolas Alexis placed fifth and sixth, respectively, in the men’s triple jump Saturday.

After transferring from Texas A&M ahead of the 2026 season, Champ has seen action just three times this year. Meanwhile, Alexis has participated in six meets across his first collegiate campaign and won two combined silver medals at January’s Spokane Sports Showcase and February’s Arkansas Qualifier during the indoor season.

Although Eddie the Eagle had his moment to shine, Finnish athlete Matti Nykanen ultimately won the ski jumping gold medal in 1988.

And UCLA’s premier talent – consisting of seven athletes who qualified for the national competition – is slated to compete at the NCAA Indoor championships from March 13 to March 14 to conclude the squad’s indoor campaign.