View source for John Capel Jr.

{{Short description|American football player and sprinter (born 1978)}}
{{Distinguish|John Capel (MP)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| headercolor    = 
| name           = John Capel
| image          = US Navy 040812-N-0780F-005 U.S. Olympic Team sprinter John Capel.jpg
| imagesize      = 220
| caption        = ''John Capel works out in the Naval Support Activity (NSA) Fitness Center in preparation for the [[2004 Summer Olympic]] Games.''
| fullname       = John Capel Jr.
| nickname       = 
| nationality    = {{USA}}
| residence      = 
| birth_date     = {{Birth date and age|1978|10|27|mf=y}}
| birth_place    = [[Brooksville, Florida]]
| death_date     = 
| death_place    = 
| height         = {{convert|5|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}}
| weight         = {{convert|181|lb|kg|abbr=on}}
| website        = 
| country        = 
| sport          = [[Track and field]]
| event          = [[100 meters]], [[200 meters]]
| collegeteam    = [[Florida Gators track and field|University of Florida]]
| club           = 
| team           = 
| turnedpro      = 
| coach          = 
| retired        = 
| coaching       = 
| worlds         = 
| regionals      = 
| nationals      = 
| olympics       = 
| highestranking = 
| pb             = 
| show-medals    = no
| medaltemplates = 
{{MedalSport | Men's [[Athletics (sport)|athletics]]}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[IAAF World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]}}
{{MedalGold | [[2003 World Championships in Athletics|2003 Paris]] | 200 m}}
{{MedalGold | [[2003 World Championships in Athletics|2003 Paris]] | 4 × 100 m relay}}
{{MedalBronze | [[2005 World Championships in Athletics|2005 Helsinki]] | 200 m}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Universiade]]}}
{{MedalSilver | [[1999 Summer Universiade|1999 Palma de Mallorca]] | 100 m}}
}}'''John Capel Jr.''' (born October 27, 1978) is an American former [[track and field]] athlete who was a world champion [[Sprint (running)|sprinter]]. Capel played [[college football]] for the [[University of Florida]], where he was also a member of the [[Florida Gators track and field]] team.

== Early years ==
Capel attended [[Hernando High School (Florida)|Hernando High School]], while there he was considered one of the nation's top wide receivers and was also one of the nation's top prep sprinters (winning the 100 and 200 meters at the prestigious National Scholastic Championships in the summer of 1997).{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}} 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 Magazine|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.

== College career ==
Capel accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the [[University of Florida]], where he played for coach [[Steve Spurrier]]'s [[Florida Gators football]] team in [[1998 Florida Gators football team|1998]] and [[1999 Florida Gators football team|1999]].<ref name=ufmediaguide>''[http://web.gatorzone.com/football/media/2011/media_guide.pdf 2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402035222/http://web.gatorzone.com/football/media/2011/media_guide.pdf |date=April 2, 2012 }}'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 85, 139, 150, 180 (2011). Retrieved August 28, 2011.</ref>

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 Gamecocks football|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 Bulldogs football|Georgia]] he scored his first career touchdown, an eight-yard run. Against [[Syracuse Orange#Football history|Syracuse]] in the [[Orange Bowl (game)|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 to schedule conflicts with his commitments 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 Crimson Tide football|Alabama]] in the [[SEC Championship Game]] he rushed the ball twice for seven yards. Against [[Michigan State Spartans football|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 forgo his remaining NCAA college eligibility and entered the [[2001 NFL draft]].

== 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]]. He won the [[Southeastern Conference]] Outdoor 200 m 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]] use at the 2001 [[NFL Combine]], and was arrested a few months later for possession of marijuana.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hersh |first=Philip |title=Sprinter John Capel gets life back on track |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=July 5, 2008 |url=http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-track5-2008jul05,0,2647766.story |access-date=August 16, 2008}}</ref> He was selected in the [[2001 NFL draft#Round seven|seventh round (208th overall)]] of the [[2001 NFL draft]] by the [[Chicago Bears]], but was released during [[National Football League training camp|training camp]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=2001 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2001/draft.htm |access-date=2023-03-17 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> He then spent part of training camp in 2002 with the [[Kansas City Chiefs]], but was again released before the season.

== Professional track career ==
[[File:Olympic Development (Mens) 100m Dash.jpg|350px|thumb|left|John Capel, winner, at the [[Penn Relays]] at Franklin Field, April 26, 2008.]]

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 Olympics]] 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 in Athletics|2003 World Championships]], held at the [[Stade de France]] in [[Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis|Saint Denis]], [[Paris, France]]. In August 2005, he won the bronze medal in the 200-meter at the [[2005 World Championships in Athletics|2005 World Championships]].

=== 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=American sprinter John Capel banned for cannabis |work=Girls Talk Sports.com |date= July 1, 2006 |url=http://www.girlstalksports.com/More-Sports/Athletics/American-sprinter-John-Capel-banned-for-cannabis-200607011155/ |access-date=August 16, 2008}}</ref> 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 searching for his name online and learning of his past troubles.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hersh |first=Philip |title=Sprinter John Capel gets life back on track |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=July 5, 2008 |url=http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-track5-2008jul05,0,2647766.story |access-date=August 16, 2008}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |last=Zinser |first=Lynn |title=U.S. Track Trials: Capel's 100-meter Comeback Ends in Disappointment |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 29, 2008 |url=http://olympics.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/john-capel/ |access-date=August 16, 2008}}</ref>

== Life after sports ==
When not competing in track meets, Capel worked for Flagstone Pavers in Brooksville, Florida, driving a [[forklift]] and picking defective blocks from outgoing orders. He also served as a coach for track and field and football at his alma mater, [[Hernando High School (Florida)|Hernando High School]] in Brooksville, Florida.<ref>{{cite web |last=Dewitt |first=Dan |title=After a hard fall, a 2nd run at glory |work=SPTimes.com |publisher=[[St. Petersburg Times]] |date=February 24, 2008 |url=http://www.sptimes.com/2008/02/24/Columns/After_a_hard_fall__a_.shtml |access-date=August 16, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326202817/http://www.sptimes.com/2008/02/24/Columns/After_a_hard_fall__a_.shtml |archive-date=March 26, 2018}}</ref> As of 2013, he was working as an assistant at Oak Hill Hospital. He is married to his high school sweetheart, with whom he has four children.

== Personal bests ==
{| class="wikitable" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
!Event
!Date
!Venue
!Time (seconds)
|-
|[[55 meters]]
|January 18, 2003
|Gainesville, Florida, United States
|6.03
|-
|[[60 meters]]
|February 15, 2003
|[[Fayetteville, Arkansas]], United States
|6.48
|-
|[[100 meters]]
|June 19, 2004
|[[Eugene, Oregon]], United States
|9.95
|-
|[[200 meters]]
|July 23, 2000
|[[Sacramento, California]], United States
|19.85
|}
*<small>All information from IAAF Profile</small><ref name=IAAFbio>{{cite web |title=Capel, John biography |publisher=[[IAAF]] |url=http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/biographies/letter=0/athcode=137076/index.html |access-date=February 5, 2009}}</ref>

As of August 2024, Capel holds three track records for 200 metres including Athens, Georgia, USA (19.99, 1999), Boise, Idaho (19.87, 1999) and Sacramento, California (19.85, 2000).

== See also ==
{{Portal|College football|Olympics}}
* [[Florida Gators]]
* [[List of University of Florida Olympians]]
{{Clear}}

== References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.legacy.usatf.org/athletes/bios/Capel_John.asp USA Track & Field profile]
* {{World Athletics}}

{{Footer World Champions 200 m Men}}
{{Footer World Champions 4 x 100 m Men|2003}}
{{Footer Universiade Champions 4x100 m Men}}
{{Bears2001DraftPicks}}
{{Footer US NC 200m Men}}
{{Footer USA Track & Field 2000 Summer Olympics}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capel, John}}
[[Category:1978 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American men sprinters]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Doping cases in the sport of athletics]]
[[Category:Florida Gators football players]]
[[Category:Florida Gators men's track and field athletes]]
[[Category:Olympic track and field athletes for the United States]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Brooksville, Florida]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Florida]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Florida]]
[[Category:World Athletics Championships medalists]]
[[Category:Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)]]
[[Category:FISU World University Games silver medalists for the United States]]
[[Category:FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States]]
[[Category:World Athletics Championships winners]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1999 Summer Universiade]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American sportsmen]]
[[Category:21st-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners]]
[[Category:USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners]]