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the Optimist view

If you are an optimist – or aspire to be one - welcome to our world. Here at Optimist World you'll find daily good news headlines, inspiring stories about charities, positive corporate social responsibility activities, sustainable travel, optimistic stories from the world of sports, and so much more

Some happy thoughts for you

A man should never be appointed into a managerial position if his vision focuses on people's weaknesses rather than on their strengths.

Peter Drucker

Tennis News - World number one Novak Djokovic scales new heights in Australia

World number one Novak Djokovic followed up his outstanding victory over Andy Murray by beating Rafael Nadal in the longest Masters final in modern history. ... Read more >>

Golf - Robert Rock rocks Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in Abu Dhabi

England’s battered sporting reputation was somewhat restored in Abu Dhabi when Midland golfer Robert Rock held all the big boys at bay to win only his second tournament. Rock boldly held off the challenge of world superstars Tiger Woods and Rory M... Read more >>


Glint of gold at Miami World Cup regatta as Britain Rules the Waves

The growing optimism of Great Britain’s Olympic sailors continues to grow as The 2012 Games approach. The multi events, which take place in Weymouth and Portland, could well rekindle the glory days when the British truly ruled the waves. ...Read more >>

Skeleton Gold for Lizzy Yarnold at Junior World Championships in Innsbruck

Great Britain's Lizzy Yarnold continued her remarkable start to 2012 by claiming gold at the Skeleton Junior World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria. ...Read more >>

British youngsters win medals in Winter Youth Olympics 2012 in Innsbruck

Teenager Jack Burrows struck gold in the Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck when he was part of the international team who won the 3000 metres mixed team short track speed skating. ...Read more >>

Pole vaulter Holly Bleasdale - a new 2012 Olympic medal prospect

Pole vaulter Holly Bleasdale suddenly added her name to the list of genuine Olympic medal potentials when she joined the worlds best in Lyon, smashed her own British indoor record and moved to second on the all-time world list with a clearance of ...Read more >>

Badminton News - Nathan Roberts looks towards London 2012 Olympic Games

Nathan Robertson, famous for his badminton exploits with Gail Emms, continued his climb up the world rankings with his latest partner Jenny Wallwork when they won the mixed doubles title at the Swedish International in Stockholm. ...Read more >>

Arsene Wenger and Thierry Henry early contenders for optimist of the year awards

You simply couldn’t make it up! The Gunners legend Thierry Henry returned to the Arsenal side four and a half years after quitting and scored the winning goal to knock old rivals Leeds United out of the FA Cup. ...Read more >>

Lionel Messi wins Fifa Ballon dOr prize for the best football player of 2011

Lionel Messi confirmed his place as the world’s greatest modern footballer when he claimed the Fifa Ballon d'Or prize for the best player of 2011, becoming only the fourth player in history to win the trophy three times. ...Read more >>

Cycling News Jason Kenny sprint champion ten months late after Gregory Bauge declared drugs cheat

Britain's Jason Kenny has been promoted to world individual sprint champion after Frenchman Gregory Bauge was declared drugs cheat. Bauge has been stripped of the title he won in Apeldoorn in March by world governing body the UCI after receiving a...Read more >>

GB gymnasts secure 2012 places at Olympic Test London

Let no one doubt the value of Britain’s sportsmen playing at “home” for the 2012 London Olympic Games. Proof, if any were needed, came with the British men’s gymnast team who clinched their place in the sun this summer when they won the Olympic te...Read more >>

Golf News - Lee Westwood wins Thailand Golf Championship and Ian Poulter wins Australian Masters in Melbourne

Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter ensured that English golf ended on a massive high as they both ended 2011 with victories on the Tour. ...Read more >>

Tennis News - Andy Murray starts on an optimistic note winning the Brisbane International

Andy Murray began the year in perfect fashion when he won his first tournament in the Brisbane International. The Scot, whose year ended with injury, had the ideal push for the Australian Open with a runaway victory over Ukraine's  brilliant ...Read more >>

Squash News - James Willstrop goes in to 2012 as undisputed world number one

England's James Willstrop marched towards 2012 as the world's undisputed number one squash player after a remarkable comeback in the PSA Masters final in India. ...Read more >>

European Curling Championships - Scots stun unbeaten Swedes to lift European title

Scotland’s women bounced back from their defeat by Sweden in last year’s European Curling Championships by thrashing the favourites to win the title in Moscow. ...Read more >>

United v City The Manchester Football Magic of the FA Cup

If any pessimist doubted the future of the FA Cup they were brushed away the moment the two Manchester Clubs were drawn together to play in the third round for a game which will be watched worldwide. ...Read more >>

Golf News - Chevron World Challenge - Tiger Woods wins again

Tiger Woods is back and the rest of the world can stop waiting and wondering. The former undisputed world number one finished with a spectacular birdie-birdie to see off his United States compatriot Zach Johnson on the 18th to win the Chevron Worl...Read more >>

Taekwondo Olympic test event - Aaron Cook continues his climb back to the top

Aaron Cook can look towards the 2012 Olympic Games in London with renewed confidence as he continued his climb back to the top. He gave Britain a home victory at taekwondo's Olympic test event in London as the 20-year-old European under-80kg champ...Read more >>

Future brighter than expected for Britain’s Olympic Fencers after team foil gold in the Olympic test event

Britain's fencers received a much-needed boost by winning the team foil gold in the Olympic test event at London's ExCeL arena. Richard Kruse, Laurence Halsted, James Kenber and Ed Jefferies combined to follow up their early successes by defeating...Read more >>

Football news - David Beckham signs off from America after helping LA Galaxy win the MLS Cup Final

David Beckham’s popularity and status in America has never been higher after helping LA Galaxy to victory over Houston Dynamos in the MLS Cup Final. ...Read more >>

Kauto Star rediscovers his mojo at Haydock

Kauto Star raised the flag for all veterans in every sport when he put his problems behind him at Haydock Park. Dual Gold Cup winner Kauto Star returned to his ebullient best to beat the favourite Long Run in the Betfair Chase. ...Read more >>

Jamie Cooke wins Modern Pentathlon World Junior Championships

Britain's Jamie Cooke can claim the award for Optimist of the Year after coming from 29th place to win the Modern Pentathlon World Junior Championship in Argentina. ...Read more >>

Football News - England beat World Champions Spain 1 - 0

It should really say ENGLAND 2 WORLD CHAMPIONS 0 as England scored a remarkable double in two separate sports over the weekend when the football team beat the reigning World Cup Champions Spain at Wembley while their rugby league counterparts beat...Read more >>

London’s newly built Olympic Stadium to stage World Athletics Championships

Lord Coe built the campaign to bring the 2012 Olympic Games to London, beating favourites Paris, and he has now captured the World Athletics Championship to be held in the United Kingdom for the first time after London was selected ahead of the fa...Read more >>

F1 News - Lewis Hamilton wins Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and answers his own fears as well as those of his critics

There are many F1 drivers who would happily change places with Britain’s Lewis Hamilton after watching him coast serenely to his third Grand Prix victory of the year. ...Read more >>

Track Cycling World Cup News - Sir Chris Hoy adds a gold to his silver in Kazakhstan

Sir Chris took gold in the men's sprint competition at the Track Cycling World Cup opener event in Kazakhstan. ...Read more >>

Golf News - Shanghai Masters - Rory McIlroy scoops the richest prize in golf

The Shanghai Masters tournament may not be sanctioned by any tour and gives the winner no ranking points at all – but US Open Champion Rory McIlroy is not complaining. ...Read more >>

Squash News - Nick Matthew confirms his world number one spot after winning World Open in Holland

Yorkshire’s Nick Matthew confirmed his world number one spot when he won his second successive World Open title in Holland. The 31 year old Matthew became the first Briton to win successive World Open titles when he beat Gregory Gaultier in Rotter...Read more >>

Tennis News - Anne Keothavong and Roger Federer win in style

Britain’s Anne Keothavong is set to climb even higher up the world rankings after she completed her season in style with back to back ITF titles in two weeks. ...Read more >>

Rugby World Cup - New Zealand are World Champions – at last!

France made the All Blacks fight to the dying seconds to clinch their first World Cup in 24 years. ...Read more >>

England’s women finish cricket tour of South Africa unbeaten

England’s women cricketers showed their men and thing orb two when they finished off their tour of South Africa with another runaway win. ...Read more >>

British Tennis News - Three titles and a runner up in one weekend for buoyant Brits

Anne Keothavong struck the jackpot when she won both the singles and doubles titles in the AEGON GB Pro Series; while British pair Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins claimed the doubles title in the St. Petersburg Open and Elena Baltacha lost to vete...Read more >>

Tennis World Rankings - Andy Murray leapfrogs Roger Federer to go third

Andy Murray moved up to third in the world after leapfrogging Roger Federer and then expressed his disappointment at not challenging for the number one spot by the end of the year. ...Read more >>

Boxing World Championships Baku - Three silver medals for Team GB

While four out of 15 British boxers left with medals, United States competitors did less well with Rau'shee Warren's bronze their only medal from 10 entrants. ...Read more >>

Jenson Button wins in Japan but Sebastian Vettel takes the world title and the glory

Jenson Button, with a new contract with McLaren in his back pocket, did everything he could to deny Sebastien Vettel back to back World Championships in Japan on Sunday morning. ...Read more >>

British tennis future beyond Andy Murray

There is life after Andy Murray in British men’s tennis after all. The growing improvement amongst GB’s young men was emphasised in Mexico on Sunday when Great Britain won the Junior Davis Cup for the first time ever by beating Italy in San Luis P...Read more >>

Cycling News - Chris Hoy wins three gold medals at the National Track Championships in Manchester

Those keen to write off Sir Chris Hoy for the London Olympic Games have had to have a rapid rethink after the Scot completed a hat trick of gold medals at the National Track Championships in Manchester. ...Read more >>

Spectacular Mark Cavendish lands the cycling road race World Championship

Manxman Mark Cavendish showed exactly why he is the world’s number one cyclist when he won the men’s road race world title in Denmark. ...Read more >>

Aaron Cook leads British rebels to four Taekwondo gold medals

Aaron Cook won his first title in the UK since quitting the British Taekwondo programme when he beat his countryman and fellow rebel Craig Brown 32- 11. ...Read more >>

Frank Lampard Bites Back With Hat Trick

Watched by England manager Fabio Capello the 33 year old Chelsea mid field player made nonsense of the recent criticism by snatching a hat trick to confirm his place in the England squad to face Montenegro on Friday night in a crunch game to quali...Read more >>

Golf News - Sonlheim Cup - Europe’s women golfers end an eight year wait to beat the Yanks

Europe’s women clawed their way back from the brink of yet another defeat against America in the Solheim Cup to snatch an unlikely victory at Killeen Castle in Ireland. ...Read more >>

GB men’s wheelchair basketball team take European title in Israel

Forty three year old Simon Munn led Great Britain’s men’s wheelchair to their first European title for 16 years to send out a warning for the 2012 Olympic Games. ...Read more >>

Berlin Marathon - Magnificent Paula Radcliffe clinches her place in the London Olympics

Paula Radcliffe’s comeback after babies, illness and injury began on the streets of Berlin when she smashed through the qualifying mark for London 2012. ...Read more >>

Golf News - Justin Rose holds on for popular win in Chicago

English golfer Justin Rose held his nerve to win his third PGA Tour title and, more important, clinch his place in the BMW Championships in Atlanta. ...Read more >>

Athletics News - Magnificent Mo Farah wins 5,000m and gives golden glow to the World Championships

Mo Farah is not only the best distance runner Great Britain has ever produced – but probably the nicest athlete into the bargain. ...Read more >>

Rugby News - Ireland light up the World Cup as they beat the Aussies

Thank goodness for the fighting Irish. They woke up the World Cup in New Zealand with the first and only upset of the competition so far when they beat Australia 15-6 at Eden Park. ...Read more >>

Rugby World Cup 2011 - England beat Argentina 13 - 9 after nervous start

Rugby World Cup 2011 - England beat Argentina 13 - 9 after nervous start....Read more >>

Athletics News - Dai Greene favourite for London 2012 Olympics games at 400m hurdles

Dai Greene scarcely had time to celebrate his World Championship gold medal before he was being tipped to repeat the magic in the Olympic Games in London next summer. ...Read more >>

British rowing hits a twenty year high at the World Championships in Slovenia

Great Britain confirmed that they are the best rowing nation in the world with the greatest depth at the World Championships in Slovenia. ...Read more >>

Paralympic rowing champion Tom Aggar wins fourth world title in the arms-only single sculls in Bled Slovenia

Paralympic champion Tom Aggar, GB’s safest bet for an Olympic gold in London next year,  won his fourth world title with a dominant display in the arms-only single sculls in Bled, Slovenia. ...Read more >>

England are cricket’s number one nation

Andrew Strauss’ team, so ably marshalled by director of cricket Andy Flower, usurped India as the top country as they demolished them for the third time this summer to take the lead they needed to jump from third to top. ...Read more >>

Football News - England beat Bulgaria 3-0 in Euro Qualifier

Maybe it is because coach Fabio Capello quits next summer or maybe it is because of a shift in personnel but England began their season with a smile. ...Read more >>

Alistair Brownlee wins Hyde Park Triathlon with brother Jonathan in third place

Alistair Brownlee owed a huge debt of thanks to his brother Jonathan as he raced home to win the Hyde Park triathlon ahead of a world class field. ...Read more >>

Cricket - England is beaming - Time to suck it up and admit Poms are Number 1

England are so close to achieving the No.1 Test ranking that her majesty is rummaging down the back of the royal sofa looking for MBEs. After routing India again, they need only maintain their 2-0 lead in the four Test series to plant the flag of ...Read more >>

Liam Tancock ensures golden climax at the World Swimming Championships in Shanghai

British swimmers were able to put the misery of the last few days behind them when Liam Tancock came up with the goods yet again. ...Read more >>

F1 News - Jenson Button shows he is the best driver at Grand Prix in Hungary

Jenson Button celebrated his 200th drive in F1 by showing once again that he is the master in bad conditions. ...Read more >>

Indians restore belief in cricket as they call Ian Bell back to the crease

It was a decision which had even the good and the great at each others throats when Ian Bell was controversially run out in the Trent Bridge test between England and India. ...Read more >>

England cricketers looking to make history by going top of the world

Even hard task master Andy Flower admitted it was a “near perfect” performance as England move on from their outstanding victory over India at Lords to Friday’s second test at Trent Bridge Nottingham. ...Read more >>

Rebecca Adlington keeps the flag afloat at the World Swimming Championships in Shanghai

Rebecca Adlington rescued what was turning out to be a poor world championships for the British when she won her second medal in Shanghai. ...Read more >>

Shanaze Reade toughs it out to win gold at the BMX World Championships in Denmark

Great Britain's Shanaze Reade added to her world title haul and displayed her mental and physical strength when she added yet another world title to her growing list in Copenhagen. ...Read more >>

Mark Cavendish claims the green jersey as Cadel Evans wins the Tour de France 2011

Manxman Mark Cavendish is finally and indisputably the fastest man on the Tour de France after claiming the green jersey as he won the final stage in Paris, becoming Britain's first winner of the green jersey for the race's best sprinter. ...Read more >>

Amir Khan defends his WBA belt by knocking out Zab Judah in five rounds in Las Vegas

Amir Khan reestablished himself as Britain’s premier boxer when he knocked out Zab Judah in five rounds in Las Vegas. The 24-year-old Khan, defending his WBA belt, put on masterclass of the noble art to annihilate the veteran IBF champion Judah.Read more >>

F1 Lewis Hamilton chalks up sensational victory in the Germany Grand Prix

Hamilton insisted it was not just the cold temperatures which had made it possible for McLaren to beat Red Bull and Ferrari when few expected an against the odds victory. ...Read more >>

Golf News - Darren Clarke wins British Open at Royal St. George's

Ireland became the centre of the golfing universe on Sunday when 42 year old Darren Clarke joined two time winner Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy in winning a Masters title in the last five years. ...Read more >>

Sprint sensation Jodie Williams leads GB to third place in the European Junior Championships

The sensational Hertfordshire sprinter Jodie Williams failed in her bid to win a hat trick of gold medals in the European Junior Championships in Estonia. After winning both the 100 and 200 metres individual sprints, she could only claim bronze in...Read more >>

IPC Swimming European Championships in Berlin

It shows just how good Eleanor Simmonds is when she makes the news for finishing second! ...Read more >>

Great Britain’s Paralympic Archers win gold and silver at World Championships in Turin

Britain's Paralympic archers continue their build up for the 2012 Games as they won two golds and three silvers on the final day of the World Championships in Turin. Beijing gold medallists Dani Brown and John Stubbs again led the way, winning a g...Read more >>

Mark Cavendish sets himself up for his first Tour de France Green Jersey with yet another win

In just four years Mark Cavendish has established himself as the greatest sprinter the Tour de France has ever seen. ...Read more >>

GB Rowing News - Great Britain scoop four golds at Lucerne World Cup

Great Britain continued their surge to the 2012 Olympic Games in London when they took 10 medals at the Lucerne World Cup event. ...Read more >>

First female jockey winner - Hayley Turner takes July Cup at Newmarket on Dream Ahead

Late replacement jockey Hayley Turner scored one for the girls whens she became the first female jockey to win a Group One race outright as she took the July Cup at Newmarket on Dream Ahead. ...Read more >>

Tennis - Novak Djokovic and Petra Kvitova lead the new breed to Wimbledon titles

Old, revived Eastern Europe is ready to take over tennis – if it hasn’t done so already! Serb Novak Djokovic won the Wimbledon Men’s Singles title while Petra Kvitova from the Czech Republic annexed the women’s title, with both claiming £1.1 milli...Read more >>

Sir Chris Hoy sets out his targets for London 2012 Olympic Games

Britain’s greatest ever track cyclist Sir Chris Hoy has set his sights on three more gold medals at the London Olympic Games next year. ...Read more >>

Alistair and Johnny Brownlee are at it again as the triathlon heads for London

Not even a puncture could stop Alistair Brownlee storming to another European triathlon title in Spain at the weekend. ...Read more >>

Sprint King Mark Cavendish Targets Green Jersey at the Tour de France

The Isle of Man’s Mark Cavendish goes into the Tour de France targeting the sprinters green jersey. ...Read more >>

Golf News - Rory McIlroy wins U.S. Open

Rory McIlroy conquered not only one of the world’s toughest golf courses and beat the best the world can offer but also won over the American audience. ...Read more >>

Tennis News - Andy Murray optimistic for Wimbledon after winning Queen's title

The wait proved worthwhile as Andy Murray overcame the outstanding Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in front of a capacity crowd at Queen’s Club in London. ...Read more >>

Jensen Button’s ride of a lifetime to win Montreal Grand Prix

Jensen Button put himself in line for the Optimist of the Year award when he splashed through the puddles in Montreal to go from last to top of the podium in the race of his life. ...Read more >>

Cycling News - Bradley Wiggins wins Criterium du Dauphine

Britain's Bradley Wiggins clinched the biggest win of his road-racing career when he conquered the Alps to win the Criterium du Dauphine. ...Read more >>

Triple Olympic Champion Ben Ainslie clinched gold medal in the Finn class in Weymouth

Who dares doubt Ben Ainslie now? Triple Olympic Champion Ben Ainslie is still top dog among Britain’s yachting fraternity as he clinched the gold medal in the Finn class in Weymouth. ...Read more >>

Queen’s Birthday Honours - Arise Sir Henry Cecil – one of the good guys

A four time Derby winner and a life time of successful training marks out Sir Henry Cecil as one of his sports greats….and a gentleman as well! ...Read more >>

Alistair Brownlee wins Madrid Marathon

How Javier Gomez, who finished third in the Madrid triathlon, must hate the very name of Brownlee for this is the third successive year Alistair Brownlee has taken the Madrid title but the first time younger brother Jonathan has whipped him on his...Read more >>

Athletics - Mo Farah breaks both British and European records for the 10,000 metres on his way to the London 2012 Olympics

Mo Farah’s decision to move to the United States for his Olympic build up produced instant rewards in Oregon as he smashed both British and European records for the 10,000 metres. ...Read more >>

Football News - Swansea City promoted to Premier League after beating Reading at Wembley

Eight years ago Swansea City teetered on the edge of extinction, a game away from dropping out of the Football League and unable to pay their electricity bills. ...Read more >>

Cricket - England defy weather and Sri Lanka to record remarkable win in Cardiff

England’s bid to become the world’s top cricket nation took a remarkable and unexpected step forward when they defeated Sri Lanka by an innings and 14 runs in Cardiff. ...Read more >>

Discus ace Dan Greaves sets his sights on 60 metres after winning Paralympic World Cup in Manchester

Britain’s top Paralympic discus thrower Dan Greaves is convinced he is ready to break the 60-metre barrier this year after beating his own world record in Manchester. ...Read more >>

Rugby News - Leinster stage the great comeback to win the Heineken Cup

Irish rugby heroes Leinster staged one of rugby’s great comebacks at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium when they lifted the Heineken Cup after looking down and out against Northampton. ...Read more >>

Great Britain start the rowing season with five World Cup golds in Munich

The five gold medals GB’s rowing crews won in Munich offset some disappointments as the World Cup got underway in Munich. ...Read more >>

Hull star Luke Campbell claims his third boxing gold of the year in Lithuania

Hull bantamweight Luke Campbell led Britain’s boxers to a five medal haul when he took his third gold medal of the season in the Algirdas Sociksa tournament in Lithuania. ...Read more >>

Luke Donald scales the heights to become the world’s number one golfer in play off

It was one of those days in sport that no one could plan in advance as the Golf world’s numbers one and two battled it out in a play off for the PGA Championship at Wentworth. ...Read more >>

Retirement - Freddie Flintoff ready to start life after cricket

Thanks Freddie – you have been great fun and an inspiration to a generation of young aspiring cricketers and old has beens like me. ...Read more >>

Tottenham Hotspurs show their generosity by backing India again in the World Homeless Cup in Rio

Spurs have selflessly involved themselves in the Homeless World Cup again by renewing their sponsorship of Team India at the 8th Homeless World Cup to be held in Rio. ...Read more >>

Fighting homophobia in football - Justin Campaign leads the battle

Entitled "The Justin Campaign", launched in memory of Justin Fashanu, the world's first and only out gay professional football player; launches an international day opposing homophobia in football – Football v Homophobia on February 19th 2010. The...Read more >>

Pensioner George Kerr receives highest judo honour, a 10th Dan

A pensioner has been awarded judo's highest rank – one of only seven living people in the world to hold the honour. ...Read more >>


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