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A crowd of 1,000 gathers to welcome home defeated Olympic runner John Capel, who speaks with optimism of the 2004 and 2008 games.
By JOY DAVIS-PLATT
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 9, 2000
BROOKSVILLE -- When Brooksville Olympian John Capel received the honorary key to the city, he turned it over to his father, the man he says has been the key to his success.
"There are a lot of athletes in the world," Capel told a crowd of about 1,000 people gathered at Brooksville's Tom Varn Park on Sunday. "But none of them have what I do. I have the whole town of Brooksville behind me."
The crowd, which had gathered for a ceremony to welcome Capel home from the Olympics in Sydney, Australia, cheered its hometown hero.
Capel's chances of winning a 2000 Olympic medal were lost in the 200-meter final when he slowed, thinking he had made a false start. He finished last in the final after winning his first three races.
"I've been a fan of his for years," said Helen McCaskill, who first met Capel when he was her daughter's classmate at Hernando High School. "We don't care if he has a medal or not. He has a gold-medal attitude."
Each year, McCaskill said she watched the young man get better, faster and stronger.
"He brings out the best in everyone around him," said McCaskill, who helped organize Sunday's event. "He has shed his light and given everybody a lift."
Capel told the crowd gathered in the shade of oak trees that he looks forward to the Olympic games in 2004 and 2008.
"It's a long way from being over," he said.
Capel was not alone in his optimism for the future.
"We are determined and we are confident that we shall overcome," said Pastor Stella Williams of Holy Band Church during her invocation. "We look forward to another day that we will go all the way."
With activities including pony rides, a petting zoo and a "pitch and hit" clinic held by former major-league baseball pitcher Mike Walker of Brooksville, the event drew a diverse crowd of visitors.
"There are people here from all segments of the county, and that's what we've been needing for a long time," said Joann Munford, Capel's cousin. "I think it took John to do that."
Munford, who is founder and president of Jesus and Me community choir, said the gathered crowds should give Capel the strength to make it to the next Olympic Games.
"We are real proud, and we can't wait for him to bring that medal home next time," said Munford, whose group performed for crowds gathered to see the Brooksville hero.
Though he has never met John Capel, 9-year-old Trey Waddy came to show his support.
"I wanted to get his autograph, but the line was too long," said Waddy after scrambling over the wall of an inflatable obstacle course.
Denzel Smith, 10, placed first in a 1-mile fun run. For his trouble, he got Capel's autographed Olympic training jersey.
"I'm a good runner," said Smith, who is Capel's nephew. "I'll be real fast one day."
Capel thanked his backers, including a local radio station that funded his parents' trip to Australia, for their support and promised that if anyone in Brooksville ever needs him, they have only to ask.
"I had a chance to have everything that I love (in Australia) with me and it made me proud," he said. "I will be there because you were there when I needed you."