Geoff Capes obituary

Geoff Capes, towering at nearly 6 feet 6 inches and weighing over 26 stone in his prime, was an impressive athlete who garnered worldwide admiration as a record-holding shot putter. He later gained even more fame as a sports figure by participating in televised strongman competitions. Capes was a two-time winner of the World’s Strongest Man title and consistently excelled in various events at the Highland Games.

Despite never achieving his dream of securing an Olympic medal, having participated in three Games and achieving his best result with a fifth-place finish in 1980, Capes, who passed away at the age of 75, had a remarkable athletic career. He claimed gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in both 1974 and 1978 and won the European indoor title twice, in 1974 and 1976. Between 1969 and his retirement from athletics 11 years later, he proudly represented his country a record 67 times, after which he decided to focus on professional competitions. In his final event in 1980, he set a personal best in the shot put with a distance of 21.68 meters, setting a national record that remains unbroken.

Capes was well-liked by British athletics enthusiasts, but his recognition soared after he appeared on television during the World's Strongest Man competition. He claimed his first victory in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1983, and then again in 1985 in Cascais, Portugal, where he triumphed in an intense showdown against his formidable Icelandic competitor, Jón Páll Sigmarsson.

Eddie Hall, another British champion of the World’s Strongest Man title, who won it in 2017, spoke highly of Capes, calling him "a person with a huge heart and strong spirit. He set the stage for athletes like me, demonstrating that British resilience and determination can triumph on a global scale."

Capes was born in Holbeach, Lincolnshire. His father, Bill, worked as a farm laborer and was the third husband of Geoff’s mother, Eileen (neé Alcock). Eileen already had six children from her previous marriages and would go on to have two more after Geoff was born. The family lived in modest farmhouses, and Capes would remember, “We weren't just regular working-class; we were at the bottom of the extensive English class hierarchy.”

After leaving school at 14 without any qualifications, Capes took on various jobs in the fields alongside his father before securing work as a laborer. He describes himself as “a bit of a troublemaker,” but discovered that he had a talent for sports, competing for Lincolnshire in football, basketball, and cross-country running.

Athletics captured his interest above all else. He became a member of the Holbeach Athletics Club, where Stuart Storey, a hurdler who competed in the 1968 Olympics and later became a BBC athletics commentator, saw his talent. Storey took him under his wing, guiding him to build his upper body strength and focus on shot putting. By the late 1960s, he had risen to the level of an international athlete and was the national champion, establishing a career for himself after starting a job with the police at the age of 19.

Capes decided to step down from his position with the police before the 1980 Moscow Olympics. The Conservative government urged athletes not to compete in Moscow as part of the British team, citing Russia's military involvement in Afghanistan as the reason. Capes remembered, “Margaret Thatcher prohibited all military and police personnel from attending, so I decided to resign from the force. I ended up losing my job, my pension, and my salary.” He felt that his vocal disagreement with the government's position played a significant role in him not receiving any recognition for his impressive athletic accomplishments on the honours list afterward.

Once Capes finished his careers in athletics and strongman competitions, he kept himself in the public eye by appearing on television and participating in profitable advertising campaigns. One memorable TV commercial from 1983 featured a sharply dressed Capes lifting and flipping a Volkswagen car, while the voiceover declared, "You don't need to be the wealthiest or strongest person in the world to pick up a Polo."

He had a sports retail shop in Holbeach and also served as a magistrate. Alongside these pursuits, he had a strong enthusiasm for breeding budgerigars. This interest unexpectedly started during his time as a police officer. While on duty, he was assigned to apprehend a man who had failed to pay a fine. When he arrived at the suspect's home, he discovered it was crowded with many budgerigars, which piqued his curiosity and he asked to examine them more closely.

"We took a seat, enjoyed a cup of tea, and talked about budgerigars. In the end, I did have to take him into custody," he recalled. "But he was really understanding about it and even gave me my first three pairs of budgerigars. Ever since that moment, I've been hooked."

Capes achieved success in global contests for budgerigar breeders and was chosen as president of the Budgerigar Society of Great Britain in 2008. “I believe the members chose me because I prioritize commitment, hard work, and dedication. Plus, I don't tolerate any nonsense.”

Capes leaves behind his partner, Kashi, as well as two children, Emma and Lewis, from his marriage to Gill (née Fox) in 1971, which ended in divorce in 1982.