Olympic athletes hit the (poetry) wall in London

With pretty much every other "boosting" substance in sports coming under scrutiny these days, London thinks Olympic athletes could use a little inspirational help from poetry, according to the BBC. Winning Words asks fans to nominate their favorite works until January 6th for inclusion on a poetry wall that will live in the Athletes' Village, apparently creating a less ephemeral but no less motivational version of those locker-room posters of silhouetted golfers at sunset and terrified cats "hanging in there."

Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy and author/editor Sebastian Faulks will participate in the judging, so you can expect the selected verses to hit at least a little deeper than that, but expect some pretty heavy sports metaphors nonetheless.

Poet Daljit Nagra, Sarah Weir from the Olympic Delivery Authority and BBC Sports presenters John Inverdale and Clare Balding will also feature on the judging panel.

Balding has suggested her nomination would be Edgar Guest's It Couldn't Be Done and Inverdale chose The Victor by CW Longenecker.