Olympics 2012 in art: Jackie Kay writes her own armchair triathlon

Reading this on a mobile? Click here to view Jackie Kay writes: I was inspired by the triathlon today and the Brownlee brothers to try and write a triathlon myself. So I've written three short poems on three different sporting events today: the javelin, the triathlon itself and two events in the velodrome. I was struck by the idea that sharing somebody's disappointment is as intense and intimate as sharing their success. I used to be a long-distance runner, a Scottish school girl champion, until I broke my leg and didn't walk properly for a year and a half. So I was thinking about that too when I wrote the poem. How quickly we move into our unfit futures! Point of View i Goldie and the Three No Throws I remember the fancy footwork of the discus or javelin, That feeling as a spear left your body, as if it'd come from within To be thrown into the future: the armchair of a middle-aged woman, watching the Olympics, twenty-four seven, shouting instructions! (The only thing worse than an armchair politician is an armchair athlete, who no longer gets athlete's feet; or has to nurse her Achilles heel.) Now, the woman from the Czech Republic, takes the chalk circle An ancient Amazonian, her spear spikes the flaky air. Then, out comes Goldie and the great bear of the crowd's roar. But Goldie loses the qualification and her despair Is as ancient as it is modern: hindsight is a golden thing – Goldie Sayers' words are wise – and the crowd adores. Belief puts itself on the line; hope is not far behind. My tears for her bravery, the biggest surprise. ii The Brownlee Brothers When the race begins, the swimmers together Seem shaped like a great bird in the river, The green-capped feathers all of a quiver. The big bird cracks open; and from the bird's-eye view Single swimmers emerge, brothers first – phew! Alistair and Jonny Brownlee – sibling stars, Shedding their wet suits first (the fourth element Some say, of this transition) and mount the bikes fast. The road to ambition is a road to perdition. All transitions come with great risks. The river, red tarmac and the Serpentine Road Where one brother will get crowned with a gold And the other brother a bronze, but hey It is not the swimming, cycling, running That is the biggest feat; it's the 15-second penalty Possibility of defeat – that's the real deal. Sport's biggest test is a character test And sport reveals true pluck and nature As the bird in the river unfurled the swimmers. iii Farewell Victoria Pendleton It was a day of drama in the Velodrome As you watched agog, OMG , As Trott took the Omnium Against the odds of a collapsed lung Coming home, coming home. Not one but two golds to her name. You saw the photo of not so long ago With young Laura and her Bradley hero. Not long later, you watched Victoria Who rode as close to her rival As a synchronised swimmer And all the drama was in the lane error Where the line was crossed in the Velodrome As close as step to pets; palindromes, The Mearest of lines, the closing line. So, farewell Victoria dearest, you say. You salute her. She runs her last lap, and bows. The last time I'm going to go through that , she says. And even her brave coach is in bits . We knew it would end in tears , the TV says. And they roll down your cheeks too – you armchair, you. The greatest ever theatre – sport's soap opera. Victoria. Oh Victoria. Collect your silver! Your ordeal is over: take your seat on throne.