Smile-Worthy Olympic Moments

#14: We Are the Champions!

Is there anything more iconic than hands raised victoriously in the air? Taking home his first gold medal in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, Władysław Kozakiewicz had plenty of reasons to celebrate when this photo was snapped. He’s broken the pole-vaulting record three times!

Pole vaulting, or jumping as it’s also known, has been around for hundreds of years, dating back to Ancient Greece, and was one of the first events included for men in the Olympics in 1896! One hundred four years later, women were also allowed to compete. Swedish male pole vaulter Armand Duplantis holds the current world records at 20.25 ft and Russian female pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva at 16.6 ft.