John Capel
Encyclopedia
John Capel, Jr. is an American track and field
athlete who was a world champion sprinter
. Capel played college football
for the University of Florida
, where he was also a member of the Florida Gators track and field team.
, while there he was considered one of the nation's top wide receivers and was also one of the nation's top prep sprinters (won the 100 and 200 meters at the prestigious National Scholastic Champion-ships in the summer of 1997). He was named to several prep All-American teams. He rated as the nation's top receiver prospect by National Recruiting Advisor and received All-American honors from the publication. He was named to the Parade All-American Team. He ranked among the nation's top 35 prep players by The Sporting News
. He played mostly running back
, where he rushed for 1,229 yards in 1997 (9.1 avg) with 12 touchdowns and also recorded 28 receptions for 434 yards (15.5 avg) and three touchdowns. He was named to Florida's Super Seniors Team. He won the state 4A championship as a junior
in 1997 in both the 100 (10.49) and 200 (21.01) meters.
to attend the University of Florida
, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier
's Florida Gators football
team in 1998 and 1999.
Capel played in every game as a true freshman in 1998, earning his only career start when the team opened with a three-receiver formation against South Carolina
. He had two receptions for four yards and rushed the ball 11 times for 80 yards (7.3 avg) and a touchdown. He returned eight punts for 77 yards (9.6 avg) and 10 kickoffs for 274 yards (27.4 avg). Against Georgia
he scored his first career touchdown, an eight-yard run. Against Syracuse in the Orange Bowl he returned three punts for 29 yards and two kickoffs for 37 yards.
As a sophomore in 1999, Capel again played in every game, listed third on the depth chart at flanker. He did not participate in spring football drills due too schedule conflicts with his cometments to the school's track team. He recorded nine receptions for 84 yards (9.3 avg) and 63 yards on nine carries (7.0 avg). He returned nine kickoffs for 141 yards (15.7 avg) and two punts for -3 yards. Against Alabama
in the SEC Championship Game
he rushed the ball twice for seven yards. Against Michigan State
in the Citrus Bowl
he recorded 109 yards on five kickoff returns with a long of 38 yards.
Capel did not play football in 2000, while he was competing as a sprinter on the U.S. Olympic team. After the Olympics, he decided to forego his remaining NCAA college eligibility and entered the 2001 NFL Draft
.
In 1997, Capel won the National Scholastic 100 (10.49) and 200 (21.01) meter dash titles while attending Hernando High School. In 1998, he ran a personal best 10.40 in the 100 meters at Florida. In 1999, he won the NCAA Outdoor 200-meter championship (19.87). He finished second in the NCAA Outdoor 100 meters (10.03), fourth in the USA Outdoor 200-meter finals (20.29). He ran on the winning 4 x 100-meters relay at World University Games. He ran a 10.12 100 meters, a mark that ranks second best in University of Florida history, behind only Olympic medalist Dennis Mitchell
. He won the Southeastern Conference
Outdoor 200m dash title in a Florida record 19.99 (the time ranked as the top American mark and the second fastest time in the world when run). He was named Florida's Most Valuable Track Athlete.
, and was arrested a few months later for possession of marijuana. He was selected in the seventh round (208th overall) of the 2001 NFL Draft
by the Chicago Bears
. But was released during training camp. He then spent part of training camp in 2002 with the Kansas City Chiefs
, but was released before the season began.
in Sydney, Australia. He finished second in the 200-meter sprint at the NCAA indoor track championships, running the distance in 20.26 seconds and breaking the American indoor record. He finished fourth at the Pontiac Grand Prix
Invitational (10.13). He finished second at the Adidas
Oregon Track Classic 100 (10.21), third in 200 (20.42). He had bests of 10.12 in a heat at the Olympic Trials and 19.85.
Capel's major athletic highlight came in winning the 200-meter gold medal
at the 2003 World Championships
, held at the Stade de France
in Saint Denis, Paris, France. In August 2005, he won the bronze medal in the 200-meter at the 2005 World Championships
.
In June 2008, Capel traveled to Eugene, Oregon
to compete to make the American Men's Olympic Sprint team, which would represent the United States of America in the 2008 Summer Olympics
, in Beijing
, China
. He failed to advance out of the semifinals, but recorded a time of 10.06 seconds: a strong performance after two years away from track competition.
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
athlete who was a world champion sprinter
Sprint (race)
Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...
. Capel played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, where he was also a member of the Florida Gators track and field team.
Early years
Capel attended Hernando High SchoolHernando High School (Florida)
Hernando High School is a public high school located in Brooksville, Florida. It is part of the Hernando County School District. It has been in operation since 1889, which makes it one of the oldest, continuously operating public high schools in the United States. HHS has a large network of alumni...
, while there he was considered one of the nation's top wide receivers and was also one of the nation's top prep sprinters (won the 100 and 200 meters at the prestigious National Scholastic Champion-ships in the summer of 1997). He was named to several prep All-American teams. He rated as the nation's top receiver prospect by National Recruiting Advisor and received All-American honors from the publication. He was named to the Parade All-American Team. He ranked among the nation's top 35 prep players by The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
. He played mostly running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
, where he rushed for 1,229 yards in 1997 (9.1 avg) with 12 touchdowns and also recorded 28 receptions for 434 yards (15.5 avg) and three touchdowns. He was named to Florida's Super Seniors Team. He won the state 4A championship as a junior
Eleventh grade
Eleventh Grade is the eleventh, and for some countries final, grade of secondary schools. Students are typically 16 or 17 years of age, depending on the country and the students' birthdays.-Brazil:...
in 1997 in both the 100 (10.49) and 200 (21.01) meters.
College career
Capel received an athletic scholarshipAthletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
to attend the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier
Steve Spurrier
Stephen Orr Spurrier is an American college football coach and player. Spurrier is the current head coach of the University of South Carolina's Gamecocks football team. He is also a former professional player and coach...
's Florida Gators football
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
team in 1998 and 1999.
Capel played in every game as a true freshman in 1998, earning his only career start when the team opened with a three-receiver formation against South Carolina
South Carolina Gamecocks football
The South Carolina Gamecocks football team represents the University of South Carolina in NCAA Division I college football. The Gamecocks have been a member of the Southeastern Conference since 1992. Steve Spurrier is the current head coach, and the team plays its home games at Williams-Brice...
. He had two receptions for four yards and rushed the ball 11 times for 80 yards (7.3 avg) and a touchdown. He returned eight punts for 77 yards (9.6 avg) and 10 kickoffs for 274 yards (27.4 avg). Against Georgia
Georgia Bulldogs football
The Georgia Bulldogs football team represents the University of Georgia in football. The Bulldogs are a member of the Southeastern Conference and are frequently a top-25 team. The University of Georgia has had a football team since 1892 and has an all-time record of 738–398–54...
he scored his first career touchdown, an eight-yard run. Against Syracuse in the Orange Bowl he returned three punts for 29 yards and two kickoffs for 37 yards.
As a sophomore in 1999, Capel again played in every game, listed third on the depth chart at flanker. He did not participate in spring football drills due too schedule conflicts with his cometments to the school's track team. He recorded nine receptions for 84 yards (9.3 avg) and 63 yards on nine carries (7.0 avg). He returned nine kickoffs for 141 yards (15.7 avg) and two punts for -3 yards. Against Alabama
Alabama Crimson Tide football
|TeamName = Alabama football |Image = Alabama Crimson Tide Logo.svg |ImageSize = 110 |Helmet = Alabama Football.png |ImageSize2 = 150 |CurrentSeason = 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide football team...
in the SEC Championship Game
SEC Championship Game
The SEC Championship Game refers to the game determining the Southeastern Conference's football season champion. The championship game pits the SEC Western Division representative against the Eastern Division representative in a game held after the regular season has been completed. Thus far, nine...
he rushed the ball twice for seven yards. Against Michigan State
Michigan State Spartans football
The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University in college football as members of the Big Ten Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level...
in the Citrus Bowl
Citrus Bowl
The Florida Citrus Bowl is a stadium in Orlando, Florida, USA, built for football, which currently seats around 70,000 people....
he recorded 109 yards on five kickoff returns with a long of 38 yards.
Capel did not play football in 2000, while he was competing as a sprinter on the U.S. Olympic team. After the Olympics, he decided to forego his remaining NCAA college eligibility and entered the 2001 NFL Draft
2001 NFL Draft
The 2001 NFL Draft took place on April 21–22, 2001 at the theater at Madison Square Garden, in New York City. This was the 66th National Football League draft in league history. The draft was broadcast on ESPN both days and eventually moved to ESPN2. No teams elected to claim any players in the...
.
Amateur track career
Capel was a standout sprinter in high school, he arrived on the world competition stage in 1999. He withdrew from Florida in April, 2000 to concentrate on track.In 1997, Capel won the National Scholastic 100 (10.49) and 200 (21.01) meter dash titles while attending Hernando High School. In 1998, he ran a personal best 10.40 in the 100 meters at Florida. In 1999, he won the NCAA Outdoor 200-meter championship (19.87). He finished second in the NCAA Outdoor 100 meters (10.03), fourth in the USA Outdoor 200-meter finals (20.29). He ran on the winning 4 x 100-meters relay at World University Games. He ran a 10.12 100 meters, a mark that ranks second best in University of Florida history, behind only Olympic medalist Dennis Mitchell
Dennis Mitchell
Dennis Allen Mitchell is a former American college and international track and field athlete, whose team won the gold medal in the 4 x 100 meters relay race at the 1992 Summer Olympics.- Athletic career :...
. He won the Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
Outdoor 200m dash title in a Florida record 19.99 (the time ranked as the top American mark and the second fastest time in the world when run). He was named Florida's Most Valuable Track Athlete.
Professional football career
Capel tested positive for marijuana at the 2001 NFL CombineNFL Combine
The National Invitational Camp or NFL Scouting Combine, as it is more widely known, is a week-long showcase, occurring every February in Indianapolis, Indiana's Lucas Oil Stadium , where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Football League coaches, general...
, and was arrested a few months later for possession of marijuana. He was selected in the seventh round (208th overall) of the 2001 NFL Draft
2001 NFL Draft
The 2001 NFL Draft took place on April 21–22, 2001 at the theater at Madison Square Garden, in New York City. This was the 66th National Football League draft in league history. The draft was broadcast on ESPN both days and eventually moved to ESPN2. No teams elected to claim any players in the...
by the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. But was released during training camp. He then spent part of training camp in 2002 with the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
, but was released before the season began.
Professional track career
Capel won the 200-meter sprint at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials with a personal-best of 19.85 seconds; he finished eighth in the 200-meter final with a time 20.49 at the 2000 Summer Olympics2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in Sydney, Australia. He finished second in the 200-meter sprint at the NCAA indoor track championships, running the distance in 20.26 seconds and breaking the American indoor record. He finished fourth at the Pontiac Grand Prix
Pontiac Grand Prix
Picking up where the Pontiac Ventura model left off, the Grand Prix first appeared in the Pontiac line for 1962. It was essentially a standard Pontiac Catalina coupe with minimal outside chrome trim and a sportier interior...
Invitational (10.13). He finished second at the Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
Oregon Track Classic 100 (10.21), third in 200 (20.42). He had bests of 10.12 in a heat at the Olympic Trials and 19.85.
Capel's major athletic highlight came in winning the 200-meter gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
at the 2003 World Championships
2003 World Championships in Athletics
The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.-Track:...
, held at the Stade de France
Stade de France
The Stade de France is the national stadium of France, situated just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. It has an all-seater capacity of 80,000, making it the fifth largest stadium in Europe, and is used by both the France national football team and French rugby union team for...
in Saint Denis, Paris, France. In August 2005, he won the bronze medal in the 200-meter at the 2005 World Championships
2005 World Championships in Athletics
The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland , the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic sports, some of...
.
Ban and return to track
Capel tested positive in 2004 and then again at the IAAF Norwich Union Indoor Grand Prix in February 2006, that time for a cannabinoid, which resulted in a two year ban from track. Since his two year ban for testing positive in 2006, he has become clean, and returned to competition, which he attributes to his then 7-year old daughter for searching his name online and learning of his past troubles.In June 2008, Capel traveled to Eugene, Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
to compete to make the American Men's Olympic Sprint team, which would represent the United States of America in the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
, in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. He failed to advance out of the semifinals, but recorded a time of 10.06 seconds: a strong performance after two years away from track competition.
Outside of competition
While not competing in track meets, Capel works for Flagstone Pavers in Brooksville, Florida, driving a forklift and picking defective blocks from outgoing orders.Personal bests
| Event | Date | Venue | Time (seconds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55 meters | January 18, 2003 | Gainesville, Florida Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth... , United States |
6.14 |
| 60 meters 60 meters The 60 meter band or 5 MHz band is a relatively new amateur radio allocation and originally only available in a few countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Ireland and Iceland... |
February 15, 2003 | Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville is the county seat of Washington County, and the third largest city in Arkansas. The city is centrally located within the county and is home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is also deep in the Boston Mountains, a subset of The Ozarks... , United States |
6.48 |
| 100 meters | June 19, 2004 | Eugene, Oregon Eugene, Oregon Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S... , United States |
9.95 |
| 200 meters | July 23, 2000 | Sacramento, California Sacramento, California Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,... , United States |
19.85 |
- All information from IAAF Profile
See also
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- List of Florida Gators football players
- List of University of Florida Olympians