The pole-vaulter who insulted the Soviet Union
In 1980, Poland's Władysław Kozakiewicz won Olympic gold, then insulted the Moscow crowd
At the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, the Polish pole-vaulter Władysław Kozakiewicz caused uproar by beating his Soviet rival to win the gold medal with a world-record jump. After being booed by the crowd throughout the event, Kozakiewicz sparked a diplomatic incident by making an obscene gesture to the stadium. An unrepentant Kozakiewicz talks to Robert Nicholson.
(Photo: Władysław Kozakiewicz. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)