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Episode details

World Service,05 Sep 2019,9 mins

The pole-vaulter who insulted the Soviet Union

Sporting Witness

Available for over a year

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)

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