2 SEPTEMBER 1972, Page 22

Sir; As a poet and athlete who has supported the

Games for many years, I was sorry to see that you had felt it necessary (August 26) to demand nothing less than the abolition of the Olympics. I am sure that after reading this the new President of the IOC, Lord Killanin, will doubt whether he ought to take office in a dying institution, Having just finished an epic poem, The Olympiad, I only hesitate to tear it up because I do not wish to waste paper, and on the back of it I might write something more likely to earn your approval. Pindar was no doubt subject to similar pressures, but according to Bowra he managed to resist them, and the ideal survived for many centuries, as I believe it will in the future.

Walter Roberts 95a Philbeach Gardens, London SW5