Geoff Capes, an English shot putter and strongman, tragically lost his life at the age of 75 on October 23. He still holds the British record for the shot from 1980.
He won several national and international competition trophies, and his impressive athletics career contributed to his financial success.
Highlights
- Geoff Capes’s estimated net worth was in the millions, and he lived with his two children.
- He grew up with 11 family members living in three converted cottages in Lincolnshire.
- He moved to Spalding to become a Justice of the Peace in 1998.
Geoffrey Lewis Capes was a gifted sportsman who represented his country in the shot put for over 11 years, winning two Indoor European Championship titles and two Commonwealth Games.
He was renowned as a strongman for his incredible strength and twice won the World’s Strongest Man title.
Likewise, he won the 1979 inaugural Britain’s Strongest Man and 1980 Europe’s Strongest Man competitions.
In addition, Geoff was six times world champion as a Highland Games competitor.
In 1983, he was voted Britain’s best-ever field athlete and became the most-capped British male athlete of all time, earning 35 wins.
Moreover, he was also known for appearing in television competitions, including Superstars and World’s Strongest Man.
Geoff Capes’s Sportsmanship Contributed To Financial Success
Geoff Capes didn’t talk much about his earnings to the tabloids, but there is no doubt that he lived a fulfilling life. The professional athlete’s average salary in the UK is £31,212 annually as of 2024.
He earned more than the average UK athlete’s salary compared to others in his prime time. He was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal for community service in 1977.
Rest in peace Geoff Capes, a true legend of the game ❤️🤝 pic.twitter.com/6emLvdzvx9
— Throwers Universe (@ThrowersUni) October 23, 2024
Although Geoff wasn’t financially stable as a child, he climbed the ladder to success through his athletics and strongman competitions.
He lived with his 11 family members in three converted cottages in the Lincolnshire fens. His father was a farm laborer.
The family wasn’t just working class but was on the lowest rung of that very long ladder, the English class system.
Geoff Capes mentioned.
After school, Geoff worked as a coalman and an agricultural laborer. He could load twenty tons of potatoes in twenty minutes.
Later, he followed in his senior’s footsteps and joined Cambridgeshire Constabulary in 1970. He remained in the police for 10 years but left to compete in the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
Geoff achieved numerous victories and records in his athletic career and, after retirement, coached many rising stars in both athletics and strength athletics.
He also ran a sportswear retail shop in Holbeach but moved to Spalding to become a Justice of the Peace in 1998.
Furthermore, Hutchinson published his autobiography Big Shot in 1981, and his game, Geoff Capes Strongman, was released in 1985.
Geoff Caped’s estimated net worth was in the millions. He lived happily with his two children in Stoke Rochford, near Grantham.
His son, Lewis, played American football for the London Monarchs, and his daughter, Emma, was the English Schools’ shot put champion and a Youth Olympics bronze medallist.
Additional Information
- Geoff Capes, the son of Eileen Capes and Bill Capes, was born on August 23, 1949, in Holbeach, Lincolnshire.
- He was the eldest of three children from his mother’s third marriage, and his mother had six children from her previous marriage.
- He studied at the local secondary school, George Farmer, and became a member of the Holbeach Athletic Club, where he was trained under Stuart Storey.
