Letter: Ali highlights Parkinson's

Norman Fox questions the decision of the Atlanta Olympic Committee to invite Muhammad Ali to light the Olympic flame ("Crowds weep at Ali's courage", 21 July). The committee, and Ali himself, should be congratulated on that very moving event.That Ali, now affected by a form of Parkinson's disease, stood before a worldwide television audience can only have helped raise awareness of the illness.

There are 120,000 people in the UK with Parkinson's. The time it took Ali to light the flame came as no surprise to those who live with the disease and illustrated vividly the need for the public to understand more and to give people with the condition the time they deserve.

Barry Brooking

London WC1