The story
The rule was introduced after Michael Edwards (born 1963), known as Eddie the Eagle, represented Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping in 1988 and performed notoriously badly.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Eddie the Eagle rule
Today it means: A rule that prevents a potential competitor from entering the Olympic Games unless they take part in an international event and are placed in the top 30% or the top 50 competitors, whichever is fewer. Full definition →