‘Local boy done good!’ The fitting tribute that will pay homage to Olympic shot putter and two-time World’s Strongest Man Geoff Capes, who grew up in Holbeach and lived in Stoke Rochford, near Grantham
Legendary strongman Geoff Capes has asked to be remembered as a ‘local boy done good’ - fulfilling a request made by one of his former coaches.
The Olympic shot putter and two-time World’s Strongest Man left instructions for the inscription to be added to his headstone in his will, it has been revealed.
Not only is this a heartfelt reminder of the great successes achieved by the multiple gold medallist - who always remained firmly in touch with his Lincolnshire roots, from his childhood growing up in Holbeach to his later years spent living in Stoke Rochford near Grantham - but also a longstanding desire to honour his legacy.
In 2018, he gave an interview to this website in which he said he had asked his former Holbeach Athletic Club coach Stuart Storey what he would put on his gravestone.
Mr Storey replied that it would have to say 'local boy done good', setting the wheels in motion for this final request.
Geoff - who lived life to the full, also dedicating time to his passion of breeding budgerigars, overseeing justice as a magistrate and championing the Butterfly Hospice, which caters for residents in South Lincolnshire - passed away aged 75 on October 23 last year.
A family statement announcing his death described Geoff as ‘Britain’s finest shot-putter and twice world’s strongest man’.
As a youngster he became a member of Holbeach AC where his sporting talent began to flourish, this gifted sportsman representing the county at basketball, football and cross-country.
Before his athletics career took off Geoff worked as a coalman and an agricultural labourer - where legend states he could load 20 tons of potatoes in 20 minutes - before spending ten years with Cambridgeshire Constabulary.
Gold medals in the European Indoor Championships and the Commonwealth Games followed during his shot-putt career before he turned to competing in World’s Strongest Man events, winning the 1983 instalment in Christchurch, New Zealand, and a second two years later in Cascais, Portugal.
The three-time Olympian was also honoured in the World’s Strongest Man hall of fame in 2018.
There was no doubting Geoff’s raw strength, which also saw him win the 1986 UK Truck Pulling Championships as well becoming the winner of the most number of Highland Games titles.
Away from sport, he displayed a gentler side, founding The Geoff Capes Foundation, which aimed to raise funds to improve the lives of disadvantaged children and young people by providing them opportunities to participate in sport and other activities.
Local boy done good, indeed.
