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65-460: It was notable for that reason and for the quality of the strength athletes it attracted, which included every winner of the World's Strongest Man competition from 1980 onwards including Jón Páll Sigmarsson , Geoff Capes and Bill Kazmaier from the 1980s right up to the five time WSM champion Mariusz Pudzianowski and four time WSM champion Žydrūnas Savickas , both of whom were never able to capture

130-475: A boycott , and was thereby forced to resign his position. Capes was a shot putter and represented his country over a span of 11 years, winning two Commonwealth Games and two Indoor European Championship titles. His first major competition was the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, where he finished fourth. In the next two games in 1974 and 1978 he took the gold medal. In this period he also became

195-603: A Highland Games competitor, he was six times world champion , first winning the title in Lagos in 1981 and the final title in 1987. He also set over 15 strength related world records. Following retirement from competitive sport, he continued to be involved in strength athletics as a referee, event promoter, and coach. He also ran a sportswear retail shop, and became renowned as a world-class breeder of birds. Capes stood 197 cm (6 ft 5 + 1 ⁄ 2  in) and weighed 170 kg (375 lb) in his prime. Capes

260-470: A coalman and an agricultural labourer, being able to load twenty tons of potatoes in twenty minutes. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather, uncle and older brothers, he joined Cambridgeshire Constabulary in 1970, and remained in the police for ten years; his departure from the police came when he decided to compete in the 1980 Moscow Olympics , despite the British Government's calls for

325-694: A dozen eggs, two steaks, a jar of baked beans, two cans of sardines, a pound of butter, and a leg of lamb. Capes competed at many Highland Games gatherings in Scotland and across the world and became a hugely popular and respected figure. He won the World Heavy Events title in Lagos in 1981, in a year when there were two world championships, the second won in Melbourne by Bill Anderson. He went on to win again in 1983 in Carmunnock and

390-508: A favourite for the title. However, he eventually placed fifth, the winner being Vladimir Kiselyov whose Olympic record of 21.35 metres (70 ft 1 in) was well short of what Capes had achieved prior to the Games. Capes said his performance at the 1980 Moscow Olympics had left him "numbed with disappointment". Capes is the most capped British male athlete of all time, receiving 67 International caps and earning 35 wins, not including

455-530: A further 35 caps for England. He is a winner of 17 national titles, including being seven times a winner of the AAA championship and three times UK champion. In 1983 he was voted Britain's best-ever field athlete. Capes' 1980 British record still stands. In 2003 Carl Myerscough threw 21.92 metres (71 ft 11 in) but the distance was not ratified. Colin Bryce , a former Strongman and television commentator for

520-461: A further three throws. Each competitor in the final is credited with their longest throw, regardless of whether it was achieved in the preliminary or final three rounds. The competitor with the longest legal put is declared the winner. In open competitions the men's shot weighs 7.26 kilograms (16 lb), and the women's shot weighs 4 kilograms (8.82 lb). Junior, school, and masters competitions often use different weights of shots, typically below

585-466: A heavy spherical ball —the shot —as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival (1896), and women's competition began in 1948 . Homer mentions competitions of rock throwing by soldiers during the siege of Troy but there is no record of any weights being thrown in Greek competitions. The first evidence for stone- or weight-throwing events were in

650-453: A hurdler who later competed in the 1968 Olympics . Capes stated that Storey helped him turn his life around and guided him during his early days in athletics. Storey encouraged him to try shot put and participate in competitions. Lacking the means to buy proper clothes, Capes attended events wearing garments left behind by his mother's patients after they died. His first attempt at competitive shot-putting ended with him placing second-to-last in

715-489: A lorry in under 20 minutes, just to demonstrate that it could be done. By 16, he had taken on the role of assistant coalman and odd-job worker for a haulier in Lincolnshire. During tea breaks at the haulier's yard, he developed his arm strength by lifting two four-stone weights overhead. He also created a makeshift gymnasium with two friends. During this time, he joined a local athletics club, where he met Stuart Storey ,

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780-554: A memorable TV commercial for the Volkswagen Polo Mk2 in which he picked the car up and rolled it over with his bare hands. His profile also led to numerous appearances on British television, one such example being in the Tyne Tees Television programme Supergran in the episode "Supergran Grounded". He appeared on Blue Peter where he lost a challenge from Welsh strongman/showman George Davies (Strang

845-418: A more beneficial posture whilst also isometrically preloading their muscles. The positioning of their bodyweight over their bent leg, which pushes upwards with equal force, generates a preparatory isometric press. The force generated by this press will be channelled into the subsequent throw making it more powerful. To initiate the throw they kick to the front with the left leg, while pushing off forcefully with

910-527: A part of the British Amateur Championships beginning in 1866. Competitors take their throw from inside a marked circle 2.135 metres (7 ft 0 in) in diameter , with a "toe board" or "stop board" 10 centimetres (4 in) high at the front of the circle. The distance thrown is measured from the inside of the circumference of the circle to the nearest mark made on the ground by the falling shot, with distances rounded down to

975-457: A reputation had been building for a number of years as a host venue for quality strength athletics and they jumped at the chance of hosting a reinvigorated WMPC. It lasted for two years in this venue but 2004 was its last outing. At this juncture the world of strength athletics had been damaged by the split between IFSA and the World's Strongest Man with more than one organisation claiming to be

1040-437: A teacher twisted his ear until it bled as punishment for misbehaving in class. The same day, Capes's mother confronted the teacher and punched him. Capes described himself as a troubled youth and recalled that he was constantly fighting. "If the next town came down on a Friday and there were only eight or nine of them, I'd say, 'Go back and get some more ' ", he told The Daily Telegraph in 2023. "I'd fight them on my own. I

1105-574: The London Monarchs . He had four grandchildren. In 2018, he married Kashmiro Bhatti. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace on the Spalding bench in 1998. His autobiography Big Shot was published by Hutchinson in 1981. Capes died at a Lincoln hospital on 23 October 2024, at the age of 75. Shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing)

1170-563: The Scottish Highlands , and date back to approximately the first century. In the 16th century King Henry VIII was noted for his prowess in court competitions of weight and hammer throwing . The first events resembling the modern shot put likely occurred in the Middle Ages when soldiers held competitions in which they hurled cannonballs . Shot put competitions were first recorded in early 19th century Scotland , and were

1235-469: The United States invented a technique that involved the putter facing backwards, rotating 180 degrees across the circle, and then tossing the shot. Unlike spin, this technique is a linear movement. With this technique, a right-hand thrower would begin facing the rear of the circle. They would typically adopt a specific type of crouch, involving their bent right leg, in order to begin the throw from

1300-674: The World's Strongest Man under the combined coaching of Capes and Bill Pittuck . Capes also helped promote the Daily Star funded UK Strongest Man tournaments until the turn of the millennium. Outside his sporting career Capes was for a long time a policeman and prior to that was a member of the Air Training Corps . Prior to his athletic retirement he had been awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977, for services to

1365-646: The World's Strongest Man . Capes represented England and Great Britain in field athletics , specialising in the shot put , an event in which he was twice Commonwealth champion , twice European indoor champion , and competed at three Olympic Games. As of October 2024, he still holds the British record for the shot put from 1980 when he putted it 21.68 metres (71 ft 2 in). As a strongman, he won World's Strongest Man twice, and World Muscle Power Classic twice, along with numerous other titles including Europe's Strongest Man and Britain's Strongest Man . As

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1430-679: The World’s Strongest Man competition , said of Capes in an interview, “When you saw him sprint, you realized just what an absolutely terrifying athlete he was, as in terrifyingly good. He wasn’t just a big lump.” As a strongman, Capes became a household name in Britain and many parts of the world. He was particularly known for his incredible hand and arm strength, easily tearing London telephone directories in half and bending rolled steel bars measuring over 1 inch in diameter, and three feet in length. Capes turned fully professional in 1980,

1495-486: The 1950s but did not receive much attention until the 1970s. In 1972 Aleksandr Baryshnikov set his first USSR record using a new putting style, the spin ("круговой мах" in Russian), invented by his coach Viktor Alexeyev. The spin involves rotating like a discus thrower and using rotational momentum for power. In 1976 Baryshnikov went on to set a world record of 22.00 m (72.18 ft) with his spin style, and

1560-740: The 1987 victory was the only one. In 1987 his win in the World Muscle Power was accompanied by a win in the World Strongman Challenge and he is one of only three athletes to have won all three titles. There was no World's Strongest Man that year, but an event was held designed specifically to put the three most successful strongmen against one another. In 1986, Capes won the UK Truck Pulling Championship. 1987 Pure Strength featured Bill Kazmaier , Jón Páll Sigmarsson and Geoff Capes and

1625-489: The 1988 World Muscle Power Classic he finished second, and it proved to be his last major outing as a strongman. For years, Capes was England’s most famous athlete. He featured in various commercials, notably for Volkswagen , where he flipped a Polo car to inspect its underside. His popularity extended to children's games and television, with the World’s Strongest Man competition becoming a Christmas Day staple. He

1690-540: The European Indoor Champion in both 1974 and 1976. His first Olympic experience was in 1972 when he competed in Munich . The 21-year-old Capes did not make it past the qualifying round, but improved on this considerably four years later. Having thrown a personal best of 21.55 metres (70 ft 8 in) on 28 May 1976 at Gateshead, he went into the 1976 Montreal Olympics as one of the favourites for

1755-581: The Olympics dominated the year and Capes did not compete in Britain's Strongest Man, but he did compete later in the Europe's Strongest Man competition and won that. This ensured his invitation to the 1980 World's Strongest Man and on his first entry he came third behind the by then more experienced Bill Kazmaier and Lars Hedlund . In 1981 he returned and improved to second place, again behind Kazmaier, and in 1982 he came fourth. 1983 World's Strongest Man

1820-562: The Olympics in Moscow being his last event as an amateur athlete. He had already begun to make a name as a strongman having won the inaugural Britain's Strongest Man in 1979. In that competition he beat Bill Anderson , the World Highland Games champion into second place. Bill went on to the 1979 World's Strongest Man , the first Briton to compete in this tournament, whilst Capes concentrated on his athletic career. In 1980

1885-454: The Strong, Georgie Muscles). In 1987, Capes was a timekeeper on the charity television special The Grand Knockout Tournament . Capes appeared on the fourth series of Shooting Stars , alongside Patsy Kensit , where he threw a bomb at Johnny Vegas and in 2007 he became the face of Cadbury's Wispa relaunch, appearing on billboards and magazine advertisements. As of spring 2010, he was in

1950-528: The WMPC title. The World Muscle Power Classic (WMPC) first took place in 1985, with the by then established World's Strongest Man having made the popularity of strongman competitions such that this second world title was viable. In a sport notorious for the difficulty with which organisers are faced in making an event enduring, the WMPC stood side by side with the World's Strongest Man for almost twenty years and in that time saw many other events come and go. From

2015-548: The WMPC, also referred to as the Aberdeen Grand Prix, was part of the Strongman Super Series in that year. Although still known as the WMPC, being part of a Super Series was a far cry from its grander position in the 1980s and 1990s. It fell from the list of Super Series events in 2003, and no event was planned in Scotland. At this time, the town of Dolbeau-Mistassini , Quebec stepped in. Here,

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2080-537: The World's Strongest Man, Capes also won Europe's Strongest Man three times: in London (1980), Amsterdam (1982) and Marken (1984). He regained his Britain's Strongest Man title in 1981 and again in 1983. Capes also won the World Muscle Power Classic championship in 1987, and was ascribed two World Muscle Power championships by the creator of the event, David Webster, although other sources suggest

2145-487: The advert for the Great British Food Fight , which appeared on Channel 4 , as well as being in an advert for Churchill insurance. Aside from sport and television appearances, Capes was famed for breeding budgerigars and had success (a former world champion ) on the show bench with his Recessive Pieds . He participated in budgerigar shows across Europe and won a world championship in 1995. In 2008, he

2210-479: The beginning of a great rivalry. The following year in Mora, Sweden , Sigmarsson, eleven years Capes' junior, took the title proclaiming "The King has lost his crown!". Capes retorted "I'll be back" with a third place finish. He won the sled push and came second in caber toss, rock press and floor press that year. Capes came to 1985 World's Strongest Man determined to regain his title from Sigmarsson. The competition

2275-786: The community. He went on to run a sportswear retail shop in Holbeach , before moving to Spalding where in 1998 he became a Justice of the Peace . At the height of his fame in 1985, the game Geoff Capes Strongman was released on the Amstrad CPC , the ZX Spectrum , the BBC Micro , the Acorn Electron and the Commodore 64 , featuring a truck pulling and tug-of-war, allowing control of each muscle group. He also appeared in

2340-496: The elder two were Braithwaites and the middle four Cannons. Capes told The Daily Telegraph , "The family wasn't just working class, but was on the lowest rung of that very long ladder that is the English class system." He grew up in the town and went to the local secondary school, George Farmer . During his time at school, his behaviour and academic performance were reportedly poor, resulting in frequent caning . On one occasion,

2405-537: The energy into the shot put. Until 2016, a woman had never made an Olympic final (top 8) using the spin technique. The first woman to enter a final and win a medal at the Olympics was Anita Márton . Ryan Crouser , the current men's world record holder, added an additional move, the "Crouser Slide", to his spin technique. He used this technique to set the world record at the Los Angeles Grand Prix in 2023. Currently, most top male shot putters use

2470-495: The event was held in Scotland, home of the Highland Games, which has a claim to be the progenitor of Strength athletics . The quality of the entrants continued unabated, attracting the very best in the world, and the competition quickly became regarded as the second most prestigious title after World's Strongest Man. The events twentieth century years saw it have a distinctly Highland Games touch. In 1998 for example, there

2535-431: The finals of the 1964 All England Schools Athletics Championships. Capes was a gifted sportsman, and represented Lincolnshire at basketball, football and cross-country . In addition he was a decent sprinter, running 23.7 s for the 200 m. Growing up on the Lincolnshire fens he had an early fascination with the natural world and cared for injured birds and animals from when he was a young boy. After school he worked as

2600-454: The gold medal. He came second in his qualifying group but sixth overall in the final, the winner being Udo Beyer of East Germany . 1980 was the year Capes threw the longest distance of his career, 21.68 metres (71 ft 2 in) in Cwmbran on 18 May 1980 being a new Commonwealth and British record. He went into the Olympics as the athlete with the best distance that year and once again

2665-478: The late 1990s with less coverage on television and many events suffered, including WMPC. In 2000 there was no event held. However, in 2001 it returned. At this time a Strongman Super Series had emerged, an attempt to heighten the profile of the sport once more, and although the WMPC did not feature as part of the point scoring events on that tour, it was advertised as the Scottish Grand Prix. In 2002,

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2730-492: The modern Summer Olympic Games since their inception in 1896, and it is also included as an event in the World Athletics Championships . Each of these competitions in the modern era have a set number of rounds of throws. Typically there are three qualification rounds to determine qualification for the final. There are then three preliminary rounds in the final with the top eight competitors receiving

2795-416: The momentum and energy generated to be conserved , pushing the shot in an upward and outward direction. Another purpose of the spin is to build up a high rotational speed , by swinging the right leg initially, then to bring all the limbs in tightly, similar to a figure skater bringing in their arms while spinning to increase their speed. Once this fast speed is achieved the shot is released, transferring

2860-419: The nearest centimetre under IAAF and WMA rules. The following rules (indoor and outdoor) must be adhered to for a legal throw: Foul throws occur when an athlete: At any time if the shot loses contact with the neck then it is technically an illegal put. The following are either obsolete or non-existent, but commonly believed rules for professional competition: Shot put competitions have been held at

2925-659: The next four consecutive titles, making him the most successful competitor ever in terms of titles. He set world records in many disciplines, including the 56 lb Weight over bar and brick lifting. As a Highland competitor he was dubbed Geoff Dubh Laidir, translated as Black Strong Geoff. He held the record for shot put at Cowal Highland Gathering − Scotland's only international heavy athletics competition − since 1980 at 18.50 metres (60 ft 8 in). During competitions and also according to Capes himself Capes went on to coach many rising stars in both athletics and strength athletics. Adrian Smith later took fifth spot at

2990-425: The next six best male results (23.37, 23.30, 23.15, and 23.12 by Ryan Crouser, 23.23 by Joe Kovacs, and 23.12 and 23.10 by Randy Barnes) were completed with the spin technique, while the eighth-best all-time put of 23.06 m ( 75 ft 7 + 3 ⁄ 4  in) by Ulf Timmermann was completed with the glide technique. The decision to glide or spin may need to be decided on an individual basis, determined by

3055-529: The only official worldwide body. An unfortunate casualty of the rift was the WMPC. Events were held over two days, and over the years the events changed although popular events included: Geoff Capes Geoffrey Lewis Capes JP (23 August 1949 – 23 October 2024) was an English shot putter , strongman , and Highland Games competitor. He was famous in the UK in the 1980s for his sporting prowess and appearances on television in shows such as Superstars and

3120-463: The outset it attracted the very best athletes in the field and the final placings in that inaugural 1985 competition saw Jón Páll Sigmarsson , Geoff Capes and Bill Kazmaier on the podium, all previous winners of the World's Strongest Man and who between them won that title nine times. The event was organized and produced by Douglas Edmunds and later the Reeves brothers. For its inception until 2002,

3185-492: The pages of Cage & Aviary Birds . He took up the hobby when a policeman, having chatted for an hour to a man he had to arrest for non-payment of a fine. Capes lived in Stoke Rochford , near Grantham . He married Gillian Fox in 1971. The marriage ended in divorce in 1982. His daughter Emma was English Schools' shot put champion and Youth Olympics bronze medallist. His son Lewis played American football for

3250-476: The right. As the thrower crosses the circle, the hips twist toward the front, the left arm is swung out then pulled back tight, followed by the shoulders, and they then strike in a putting motion with their right arm. The key is to move quickly across the circle with as little air under the feet as possible, hence the name 'glide'. This is also known as the rotational technique. It was first practiced in Europe in

3315-404: The shot. When the athlete executes the spin, the upper body is twisted hard to the right, so the imaginary lines created by the shoulders and hips are no longer parallel. This action builds up torque , and stretches the muscles, creating an involuntary elasticity in the muscles, providing extra power and momentum . When the athlete prepares to release, the left foot is firmly planted, causing

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3380-465: The size of the shot vary. For example, different materials are used to make indoor and outdoor shot – because damage to surroundings must be taken into account – so the latter are smaller. There are various size and weight standards for the implement that depend on the age and gender of the competitors as well as the national customs of the governing body. The current world record holders are: The current records held on each continent are: Below

3445-474: The spin. However the glide remains popular since the technique leads to greater consistency compared to the rotational technique. Almost all throwers start by using the glide. Tomasz Majewski notes that although most athletes use the spin, he and some other top shot putters achieved success using this classic method (for example he became the first to defend the Olympic title in 56 years). The world record and

3510-435: The sword on the shield to the four winds. By the late 1990s, although regarded highly still, the WMPC profile appeared to dip. In 1998 for example it was advertised that the winner was guaranteed a place at the World's Strongest Man competition, whereas in the 1980s and early 90s it was much more than a qualifier for the more prestigious competition, but a second world title. The profile of strength athletics in general waned in

3575-438: The thrower's size and power. Short throwers may benefit from the spin and taller throwers may benefit from the glide, but many throwers do not follow this guideline. The shot is made of different kinds of materials depending on its intended use. Materials used include sand , iron , cast iron , solid steel , stainless steel , brass , and synthetic materials like polyvinyl . Some metals are more dense than others, making

3640-480: The weights of those used in open competitions; the individual rules for each competition should be consulted in order to determine the correct weights to be used. Two putting styles are in current general use by shot put competitors: the glide and the spin . With all putting styles, the goal is to release the shot with maximum forward velocity at an angle of slightly less than forty-five degrees. The origin of this technique dates to 1951, when Parry O'Brien from

3705-545: Was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth II , who "howled in laughter" when her glove stuck to his sweaty hands after he won the Braemar Games in 1982. Former strongman and commentator Colin Bryce remarked compared Cape's unparalleled fame in Britain to that of an NFL star in the United States, describing him as "a true household name.” Capes' daily diet reportedly included seven pints of milk, two loaves of bread,

3770-471: Was an opening ceremony started with a parade and several bag pipe bands played as the "World Highland Games Competitors" and the "World Muscle Power Classic Competitors" entered the field together. The competitors lined up in front of the Chieftains table and Jouko Ahola , then World Strongest Man was given the title of honorary chieftain. He was dressed in a kilt and officially started the Games by banging

3835-551: Was appointed president of the Budgerigar Society and often served as a judge in competitions. "There’s something about their colour and beauty that fascinates me", Capes told the Sunday People . "They bring out my gentler side." At the peak of his breeding career, he owned over 300 budgies. He constructed a small wooden aviary behind his house and prepared meals for them each morning. Capes frequently appeared in

3900-408: Was born on 23 August 1949 in Holbeach , Lincolnshire, the seventh of nine children. He weighed 12.4 pounds (5.6 kg) at birth. He was the seventh child of Eileen (Alcock) Capes, though the eldest of her three children by her third husband Bill Capes. His father was a land worker, while his mother, who stood six feet tall and weighed 250 pounds, was a matron at a care home. Of his older siblings,

3965-466: Was held at Huntly Castle in Aberdeenshire , Scotland. Capes entered despite having been in hospital the previous weekend with strained trapeziums. Strong performances in the first few rounds belied his condition but he eventually pulled out during the log-lift and ended the contest in third place. Capes, the oldest of the three, was close to strongman retirement at this stage and the next year, at

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4030-593: Was held in Cascais , Portugal and Capes managed to win the truck pull, medley, arm over arm pull and swingletree. Despite a horrible last place finish in the crucifix hold, Capes managed to collect enough points to secure his second World's Strongest Man title, holding off Sigmarsson and Cees de Vreugd . Capes' did not forget to celebrate after the end of the final event, the loading race saying "The King has not lost his crown!". Their rivalry thrived and Sigmarsson won once again in 1986 with Capes coming second. Aside from

4095-414: Was quite quiet but there was an inner aggression." Despite his natural inclination towards physical activities, Capes initially struggled to find success in sports. He faced a one-year ban from a local football team after striking a referee during a match. He left school at 14 to work as a labourer, carrying sacks of potatoes and taking on various odd jobs. At the age of 15, he loaded 20 tons of potatoes onto

4160-600: Was the first held outside the United States and in Christchurch , New Zealand he held off the challenge of a world class field including the young Jón Páll Sigmarsson , Canadian world powerlifting champion , Tom Magee , and the European powerlifting champion, Siem Wulfse to take his first World's Strongest Man title. Capes won the truck pull and weight over bar and came second in farmer's walk, bale hoist and sack load events. The duel between Sigmarsson and Capes heralded

4225-418: Was the first shot putter to cross the 22-meter mark. With this technique, a right-hand thrower faces the rear, and begins to spin on the ball of the left foot. The thrower comes around and faces the front of the circle and drives the right foot into the center of the circle. Finally, the thrower reaches for the front of the circle with the left foot, twisting the hips and shoulders like in the glide, and puts

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