Władysław Kozakiewicz

Władysław Kozakiewicz

Personal information
Nationality	Polish
Born	(1953-12-08) 8 December 1953 Šalčininkai, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)
Weight	82 kg (181 lb)
Sport
Country	Poland
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Pole vault
Club	Bałtyk Gdynia
Retired	1978
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	Pole vault: 5.78 m (1980)
Medal record Olympic Games Gold Moscow 1980 Pole vault Universiade Gold 1977 Sofia Pole vault Gold 1979 Mexico City Pole vault

Władysław Kozakiewicz (born 8 December 1953) is a Polish pole vault jumper, an Olympic champion at the 1980 Summer Olympics.

Biography

Kozakiewicz was born to a Polish family in Soleczniki (now Šalčininkai, Lithuania) near Wilno (Vilnius, Lithuania), he broke the pole vault jumping world record three times, was European Indoor Champion in 1977 and 1979, Polish Champion ten times, and won a gold medal during the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.

Kozakiewicz's gesture

Kozakiewicz's gesture.^[1]

In Poland, the Bras d'honneur became known as "Kozakiewicz's gesture" (gest Kozakiewicza).^[1] Kozakiewicz made the gesture on 30 July 1980 to Russian spectators in the stadium during the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The crowd supporting Soviet jumper Konstantin Volkov booed, hissed, jeered, and whistled during Kozakiewicz's performance. Having just secured his gold medal position, Kozakiewicz made the gesture in defiance to the Soviet crowd. He later confirmed his dominance over the competition by breaking the world record, clearing at 5.78 meters.

The photos of this incident circled the globe, with the exception of the Soviet Union and its satellites, although the event was broadcast live on TV in many countries of the Bloc. While international observers varied in their reaction to the incident, Kozakiewicz's act received much support in Polish society, which resented Soviet control over Eastern Europe (Poland was in the midst of labor strikes that led to the creation of the labor union Solidarity less than two months later). After the 1980 Olympics ended, the Soviet ambassador to Poland demanded that Kozakiewicz be stripped of his medal over his "insult to the Soviet people".^[2] The official response of the Polish government was that Kozakiewicz's arm gesture had been an involuntary muscle spasm caused by his exertion.

Kozakiewicz emigrated to West Germany in 1985, but later returned to Poland.

See also

• 1968 Olympics Black Power salute

References

External links

• Kozakiewicz at sporting-heroes.net
• Video of Kozakiewicz giving the gesture at the Moscow Olympics
• Władysław Kozakiewicz at Sports-Reference.com

Records
Preceded by David Roberts	Men's Pole Vault World Record Holder 11 May 1980 – 29 June 1980	Succeeded by Thierry Vigneron
Preceded by Philippe Houvion	Men's Pole Vault World Record Holder 30 July 1980 – 20 June 1981	Succeeded by Thierry Vigneron
Awards
Preceded by Jan Jankiewicz	Polish Sportspersonality of the Year 1980	Succeeded by Janusz Pyciak-Peciak
Sporting positions
Preceded by Dave Roberts	Men's Pole Vault Best Year Performance 1977	Succeeded by Mike Tully
Preceded by Patrick Abada Philippe Houvion	Men's Pole Vault Best Year Performance 1980	Succeeded by Vladimir Polyakov