Editing Geoff Capes (section)

==Athletics==
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 Commonwealth Games|1974]] and [[1978 Commonwealth Games|1978]] he took the gold medal. In this period he also became the European Indoor Champion in both 1974 and 1976.<ref name="Sons"/> His first Olympic experience was in 1972 when he competed in [[Munich]].<ref name="sportrefGeoff">{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ca/geoff-capes-1.html |title=Geoff Capes |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110907021039/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ca/geoff-capes-1.html |archivedate=7 September 2011}}</ref> 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 {{convert|21.55|m|ftin}}<ref name="best">{{Cite web|url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/uk/mf99.htm|title=UK All-Time Lists: Men − Throws|website=www.gbrathletics.com}}</ref> on 28 May 1976 at Gateshead, he went into the [[1976 Summer Olympics|1976 Montreal Olympics]] as one of the favourites for the gold medal. He came second in his qualifying group but sixth overall in the final, the winner being [[Udo Beyer]] of [[East Germany]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1976/ATH/mens-shot-put-final-round.html |title=Athletics at the 1976 Montréal Summer Games |work=Olympics at Sports-Reference.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090814213628/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1976/ATH/mens-shot-put-final-round.html |archive-date=14 August 2009}}</ref> 1980 was the year Capes threw the longest distance of his career, {{convert|21.68|m|ftin}} in [[Cwmbran]] on 18 May 1980<ref name="best"/> being a new Commonwealth and British record. He went into the Olympics as the athlete with the best distance that year and once again a favourite for the title. However, he eventually placed fifth, the winner being [[Vladimir Kiselyov]] whose Olympic record of {{convert|21.35|m|ftin}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ki/vladimir-kiselyov-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200507115706/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/search/athlete_search.cgi?search=vladimir+kiselyov+ |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 May 2020 |title=Search Results |work=Olympics at Sports-Reference.com}}</ref> 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".<ref name="Ind">[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/geoff-capes-back-to-give-britain-a-shot-at-the-title-454448.html "Geoff Capes: Back to give Britain a shot at the title", ''The Independent on Sunday'', 24 June 2007]/{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206020741/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/geoff-capes-back-to-give-britain-a-shot-at-the-title-454448.html |date=6 February 2010}}</ref>

Capes is the most [[Cap (sport)|cap]]ped British male [[Sport of athletics|athlete]] of all time, receiving 67 [[International cap]]s and earning 35 wins, not including 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.<ref name="sportrefGeoff"/> In 1983 he was voted Britain's best-ever field athlete.<ref name="Sons"/> Capes' 1980 British record still stands. In 2003 [[Carl Myerscough]] threw {{convert|21.92|m|ftin}} but the distance was not ratified.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thepowerof10.info/records/records.aspx?recordtypeid=6|title=Records|website=www.thepowerof10.info}}</ref>

[[Colin Bryce]], a former Strongman and television commentator for the [[World's Strongest Man|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.”<ref name=":12"/>