Sporting legend Roger Bannister calls for “optimism” ahead of Olympic Games
"There will always be failures, wrongdoing and cheating in every human endeavour. Britain should be bursting with pride over our Froomes, Murrays, Ennis-Hills and Mo Farahs. They inspire amateur athletes all over the world."
By Hannah Somerville, Oxford Mail
Sporting legend Roger Bannister has said Britain still has plenty of reasons to be "bursting with pride" over its sportsmen and women.
The former athlete and physician, 87, who made history in March 1954 by running the first sub-4 minute Mile, has implored people not to be "swathed in doleful pessimism" by recent reports of drugs cheating ahead of the upcoming Olympics.
In a letter to The Times last week, he wrote: "There will always be failures, wrongdoing and cheating in every human endeavour. Britain should be bursting with pride over our Chris Froomes, Andy Murrays, Jessica Ennis-Hills and Mo Farahs. They inspire amateur athletes all over the world. It would be a poor heart that did not rejoice at the memory of the 2012 London Games, which changed the lives of many able and disabled athletes athletes. Let us face the future with optimism."
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