He remembered: “I had been a hell of a fighter at the same time. If the subsequent town came down on a Friday and there were only 8 or 9 of these I’d say, ‘Go back and obtain some far more.’

But rising up inside the Lincs fens Geoff had a softer aspect — he was ­fascinated from the purely natural entire world and cared for injured birds and animals.

As PC 222 he was effectively-generally known as Peterborough’s initially line of defence. “The law enforcement made use of my toughness very constructively,” he stated. “When I was on duty there were in no way any fights on Friday nights. If items turned hideous, they’d constantly say ‘Send out for Capesy’.”

Geoff dominated the Highland Game titles, location earth information in numerous situations and entertaining big crowds together with his displays of Uncooked ability. His strength gained him regard, friendships, and admiration from admirers across the globe.

“Only last week at our 50th anniversary celebrations, retired officers have been speaking about his time right here in Cambridgeshire. Our condolences head over to his friends and family.”

For the duration of tea breaks in the haulier's yard, he formulated his arm energy by lifting two four-stone weights overhead. He also produced a makeshift gymnasium with two friends.[eight] In the course of this time, he joined an area athletics club, wherever he satisfied Stuart Storey, a hurdler who later competed during the 1968 Olympics. Capes mentioned that Storey aided him switch his daily life about and guided him all through his early days in athletics. Storey encouraged him to test shot set and engage in competitions. Lacking the usually means to acquire appropriate clothes, Capes attended gatherings donning clothes still left powering by his mom's clients once they died.[six] His initially attempt at aggressive shot-putting finished with him inserting second-to-past inside the finals of the 1964 All England Universities Athletics Championships.[8]

His Perspective in direction of officialdom was Similarly imposing, notably when he was disqualified with the 1978 European Championships in Prague.

Specified the amount of food stuff Capes essential to maintain his body weight, the wage he earned with the police was important to his athletics career. At his peak, Capes’s each day diet program consisted of the box of cereal, seven pints of milk, two tins of pilchards, 3 cartons of cottage cheese, two loaves of bread, a leg of lamb, two steaks, a dozen eggs, a pound of butter, a pint of orange juice, a tin of baked beans, a jar of honey, a grapefruit and two tins of tuna. “I by no means definitely try to eat great quantities,” he at the time explained. “It’s just continuous.”

“Not just was Geoff a two-time Entire world’s Strongest Male in addition to a record-breaking shot putter, but he was also a giant in heart and spirit,” Hall claimed, for every the BBC.

John Bland posted: “When police officers accustomed to walk the defeat, and my father worked at Perkins Queen Road factory being a safety guard, Geoff would call in the gate box for a click here cuppa when he was on evenings.

The advised common day-to-day intake for an adult gentleman is 2,500 calories - which means that Capes would consume over five instances approximately his fellows. Pictured: His large portion next to his wife's

“He paved how for athletes like me, showing that British grit and willpower could conquer the whole world,” he added.

For many who viewed Activity in the Seventies and Eighties, or a primary-time broadcast of any description, Capes achieved a standard of fame considerably beyond the British monitor and discipline athletes of currently.

His legacy lives on from the a great number of life he touched, each on the sector and beyond, and while in the Reminiscences of a country that won't ever neglect The person who was, fairly basically, larger than daily life.

This consistency ensured his status as certainly one of Britain’s most popular athletes. The occasionally bizarre mother nature of Some trials of energy, for instance hauling a 9-ton lorry 100ft or pushing a 900lb bodyweight uphill on wheels, was not misplaced on Capes. He stated his favourite occasions were the truck pull and the bar bend.