NPR's Poetry Gold Goes To...Mbali Vilakazi from South Africa!

Two weeks ago, we highlighted NPR's Poetry Games, an international poetry competition celebrating Olympic athletes. This morning, NPR announced the winner: Mbali Vilakazi of South Africa, 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.

Vilakazi was particularly impressed by the swimmer's ability to adapt in the face of adversity; du Toit was already an accomplished swimmer when she lost her leg in a scooter accident at 17. Yet she carried on.

"It's not about what happens to you, it's about how quickly you can get up," Vilakazi says. "And I think that that's what the Olympics is all about. ... That's what I love, and that's what I hold onto."

Hear the winning poem read by Vilakazi here!