As athletes have sprinted and soared their way to bronze, silver and gold in London, Morning Edition has celebrated the Olympics with the Poetry Games: We invited poets from around the globe to compose original works about athletes and athletics and asked you to be the judges. Thousands of listeners voted online, and now we are pleased to crown the victor: Mbali Vilakazi from South Africa wins for her poem “Swim Your Own Race.”
Vilakazi was inspired by fellow South African Natalie du Toit, a swimmer who lost her leg as a teenager. In 2008, du Toit made history as the first woman amputee to qualify for the Olympics.
“As a young person trying to find my own way, there have been challenges that I’ve had to face and at times … I really felt that they were insurmountable,” Vilakazi explains.
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