Editing Geoff Capes (section)

==Strongman==
As a strongman, Capes became a household name in Britain and many parts of the world.<ref name="Archives">{{cite web |title=Geoff Capes|url=https://strongmanarchives.com/viewAthlete.php?id=13|access-date=15 July 2023|work=Strongman Archives|date=17 June 1988}}</ref> 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&nbsp;inch in diameter, and three feet in length. Capes turned fully professional in 1980, the Olympics in Moscow being his last event as an amateur athlete. He had already begun to make a name as a [[strength athlete|strongman]] having won the inaugural [[Britain's Strongest Man]] in 1979. In that competition he beat [[Bill Anderson (strongman)|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 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]] 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 championship|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 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!".<ref name="Web129">Webster, page 129</ref> Capes retorted "I'll be back" with a third place finish.<ref name="Web129"/> 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 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!".<ref name="Web129"/> Their rivalry thrived and Sigmarsson won once again in 1986 with Capes coming second.

Aside from 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 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.<ref name=":12">{{Cite news |last=Rosenwald |first=Michael S. |date=November 6, 2024 |title=Geoff Capes, World's Strongest Man and Champion Bird Breeder, Dies at 75 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/06/world/europe/geoff-capes-dead.html |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

1987 [[Pure Strength]] featured [[Bill Kazmaier]], [[Jón Páll Sigmarsson]] and Geoff Capes<ref name="Web172">Webster, pages 170–175</ref> and was held at [[Huntly Castle]] in [[Aberdeenshire, Scotland|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 the 1988 World Muscle Power Classic he finished second, and it proved to be his last major outing as a strongman.<ref name="Web172" />

For years, Capes was England’s most famous athlete. He featured in various commercials, notably for [[Volkswagen]], where he flipped a [[Volkswagen Polo|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 was a favorite of [[Elizabeth II|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 [[National Football League|NFL]] star in the United States, describing him as "a true household name.”<ref name=":12"/>

Capes' daily diet reportedly included seven pints of milk, two loaves of bread, a dozen eggs, two steaks, a jar of baked beans, two cans of sardines, a pound of butter, and a leg of lamb.<ref name=":12"/>