Geoff Capes, a British shot-putter, strongman, and one of the sport’s most iconic athletes, passed away at the age of 75. Juggernaut-like strength and athletic achievements aside, unexpected passion for breeding birds left an envious legacy for this Brit. Geographically, Geoff’s career has become quite legendary.
Early Life and Sporting Origins
Geoff Capes was born in 1949 in Lincolnshire, England, in the East Midlands County. He is the child of her third marriage and grew up as part of a family of nine in working-class surroundings. Geoff took various jobs to make ends meet as a youngster, the most notable of which was acting as a coalman and agricultural laborer.
Capes indicated some promise in sports at the tender age of a teenager. He represented his county and did pretty well in basketball, football, and cross-country running. However, it was a shot put that he later engaged in and took up, which set the course for an outstanding career.
Shot Put Career
Capes represented Great Britain in the shot put at three Olympic Games—Munich 1972, Montreal 1976, and Moscow 1980. In 1976, he came sixth in Montreal, and in Moscow, he came fifth. Despite not achieving his Olympic dream of winning a silver or gold medal, Capes achieved success in 1980 when he threw his personal best of 21.68 meters. To this day, it is still a British record.
He won numerous titles in the shot put during his career. Capes was the UK shot put champion three times; he took gold at two Commonwealth Games. He set a record with a 20.74-meter shot put at the 1984 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand. Four years later, in Edmonton, Canada, he successfully defended his title and established himself as one of Britain’s finest athletes.
The European Indoor Championships in 1984 at Gothenburg and later in 1986 in Munich crowned Capes’ success. Further to this, he won the bronze medal at the European Championships held in Rome in 1984.
Entry into Strongman Competitions
After retiring from shot put, Capes dedicated all his time to strength competitions. He became famous through his regular appearance in TV shows for Superstars, a program that made an athlete test out their versatility across various sports. It was the most popular show in the 1970s and 1980s and attracted millions of viewers. Capes proved during this performance that he was more than capable of anything outside of shot put.
In 1983 and 1985, Capes became an international sensation as one of the strongest athletes in the world while winning the World’s Strongest Man two years consecutively. He was a combination of strength, agility, and charisma, which earned him fans worldwide and made him the global ambassador for British strength.
In particular interest: breeding budgerigars.
Despite his impressive stature and profile as a powerhouse, Geoff Capes’s most remarkable story is his passion for breeding budgerigars. This hobby, which began in 1969 when he was still a policeman, kept him occupied for the duration of his active service. His journey into bird breeding is a unique and amusing story.
While serving a summons for failure to pay a fine, Capes went to a house full of birdcages. He was interested and spent a considerable amount of time discussing the hobby with the owner, who then took him into custody. On release, the man presented Capes with three pairs of buds. Capes became an avian breeder from that day forth. He even built an aviary and indulged in the hobby for many years.
Legacy in British Sport
Caps’ contribution to Britain’s athletics cannot be overemphasized. He holds the all-time record for being the athlete with the most caps for Britain in track and field athletics. During his 11-year career for Great Britain, he won three UK champion titles and two Commonwealth Games gold medals.
Apart from his athletic success, Capes became a household name throughout the UK and the world as a result of his activities as a strongman competitor and a television personality. It’s no surprise that he won the titles of World’s Strongest Man in 1983 and 1985.
Tributes and honors
Tributes were flowing in from athletes and fans around the world after his death. British Olympic athlete Katharine Merry wrote, “He was indeed a real household name.” British Athletics also put out a statement welcoming the family’s condolences and paying tribute to his legacy.
Guinness World Records is also paying tribute to Capes in his memory. This is a reference to one of his lesser-known feats. In 1978, Capes established a record by throwing a standard 2.27 kg (5 lb) building brick an unbelievable 44.54 meters. The record remains unchanged.
A Life Well-Lived
He was a man of tremendous physical strength, on the one hand, and a person who derived happiness in the softness of breeding birds, on the other. The life of Geoff Capes is, therefore, also one of contrasts. His contributions to British sport, whether it is athletics or strength competitions, leave a profound mark.
With tributes flowing in, people will remember Capes as more than a muscleman. He was passionate, dedicated, and had the endearing touch of humor that many people loved him for. His legacy will be in his athletic records and the memories he left behind in the world of sports.
