Men Pole Vault Athletics XXII Olympic Games Moskva, Soviet Union 1980 - Wednesday, 30th July - Gold Medal: Wladyslaw Kozakiewicz, Poland
Final
Height
SO
515
525
535
545
550
555
560
565
570
575
578
582
1. Wladyslaw Kozakiewicz
Poland
5.78m WR
5.
O
O
O
O
O
O
XO
XXX
2. Konstantin Volkov
Soviet Union
5.65m
6.
O
O
XXO
XX-
X
3. Tadeusz Ślusarski
Poland
5.65m
12.
O
O
XXO
XXX
4. Philippe Houvion
France
5.65m
8.
XO
XO
O
XXO
XXX
5. Jean-Michel Bellot
France
5.60m
1.
O
O
O
XXX
6. Mariusz Klimczyk
Poland
5.55m
3.
O
XO
O
XXX
7. Thierry Vigneron
France
5.45m
2.
O
O
XXX
8. Sergei Kulibaba
Soviet Union
5.45m
9.
XO
O
XXX
9. Tapani Haapakoski
Finland
5.45m
--.
XO
XO
XXX
10.Kazimir Zalar
Sweden
5.35m
--.
O
O
XX-
X
11.Brian Hooper
Great Britain
5.35m
--.
O
O
XXO
XXX
12.Rauli Pudas
Finland
5.25m
--.
O
XXX
Competitors: 19; Countries: 10
The pole vault, the most frequently beaten field event world record,
was improved by three vaulters in 1980 before Moscow; Kozakiewicz
(5.72), Vigneron (5.75) and Houvion (5.77). All three safely qualified
for the final, though Montreal’s silver medallist Kalliomäki was elimi-
nated after failing his opening height.
Houvion and Klimczyk had failures at early heights in the final, and
Vigneron had an off-day, missing at 5.55. None of the top six missed at
5.50, 5.55 or 5.60, though four passed 5.60 after clearing the preceding
height. Kozakiewicz was the only man to clear 5.65 first time, with
Volkov, the - 1979 number one - clearing only on his final jump to tie
Ślusarski for silver. Kozakiewicz was faultless at 5.70 - to the disap-
pointment of the booing, ill-mannered crowd - and set a lifetime best
of 5.75, before missing first time at 5.78. On his second attempt he
brushed the bar, but it stayed on, for a new world record. Kozakiewicz
celebrated by gesturing to the crowd to let them know his opinion of
them, and then had three misses at 5.82, one of them very close.
Poland
Soviet Union
France
Finland
Sweden
Great Britain
Switzerland
Bulgaria
East Germany
Belgium