Geoffrey Capes dies: British sports legend, twice recognised as the world's strongest man
Kyiv • UNN
British shot put record holder Geoff Capes has passed away at the age of 75. He was twice the strongest man in the world, three times the strongest man in Europe, and consumed 12,000 calories a day.
Jeff Capes competed in three Olympic Games, competing in the shot put and twice winning the title of the world's strongest man. The sad news of his death came from the UK.
Writes UNN with reference to Top-Fight and BBC.
Jeff Capes, the British record holder in the shot put and twice the world's strongest man, died at the age of 75 on Wednesday, October 24. This was reported by his family. Details about the cause of death of the outstanding British athlete have not been disclosed.
Born in Holbeach, Lincolnshire, he was one of the best shot putters in the history of the United Kingdom.
In 1980, Capes set the record for the longest shot put with a distance of 21.68 meters. The Briton has become one of the world's leading strongman figures, having won the title of the world's strongest man in 1983 and 1985. In addition, he became the strongest man in Europe three times (1980, 1982, 1984).
At 198 cm tall and weighing over 150 kg, Capes had to keep his body in top condition, and that included eating an incredible amount of food. To prepare for competitions in the shot put, and later for the world of the strongman, he had to consume four times the average daily calorie intake of a normal person.
In his famous interview with the BBC in 1976, Capes said that he had to eat a huge amount of food every day to have enough energy for heavy training. During this interview, he said that his daily nutritional intake contained 12,000 calories.
Jeff Capes devoted five hours a day to heavy training, mostly lifting weights. In a week, he could lift 120 tons, which is equivalent to the weight of 18 double-decker buses. This huge amount of training prepared him for the competition, where he showed his strength in front of the whole world.
It is also known that Capes lived in the village of Stoke Rochford in Lincolnshire, had two children and grandchildren.
He also served as a police officer in Cambridgeshire for 10 years, earning £9.50 a week.
Before the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, after Capes resigned to boycott the Games following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
