Heike Gabriela Drechsler (German pronunciation: [ˈhaɪkə ˈdʁɛkslɐ] i; née Daute; born 16 December 1964) is a German former track and field athlete who represented East Germany and later Germany. One of the most successful long jumpers of all-time, she is a former world record holder and ranks third on the all-time list with her legal best of 7.48 meters in 1988. Her marginally wind-assisted jump of 7.63 meters (+2.1 ) in 1992 at altitude in Sestriere, is still the furthest a woman has ever long jumped. She is the only woman who has won two Olympic gold medals in the long jump, winning in 1992 and 2000.
Drechsler also won Olympic medals in the 100 meters and 200 meters in 1988, a silver medal in the 100 meters at the 1987 World Championships, and is a former world record holder in the 200 meters with 21.71 secs in 1986.
Biography
Drechsler was born in Gera, Bezirk Gera, East Germany (now Thuringia, Germany). As a teenager she was active in the Free German Youth (FDJ) and in 1984 she was elected to the Volkskammer of East Germany.
Initially a very competitive long jumper early in her career as a teenager, Drechsler made a transition into the world of elite sprinting in 1986 at the age of 21. She married Andreas Drechsler in July 1984 and competed as Heike Drechsler from then on. She was coached by Erich Drechsler, her father-in-law.
In addition to her Olympic success, Drechsler won two World Championships in the long jump (1983 and 1993), as well as gold medals in the long jump and the 200 m sprint in the World Indoor Championships 1987. She also had numerous successes in European and German championships. Drechsler's greatest rival in the long jump was Jackie Joyner-Kersee, with whom she was also very good friends.
In 1986, Drechsler twice equalled Marita Koch's 200 meters sprint (21.71 seconds) world record and set two long jump world records and equalled one in 1985 and 1986.
According to an article written by Ron Casey (an Australian statistician), in 1986 Drechsler made significant improvements to her 100 m and 200 m times. In one season she went from an 11.75-second 100 m to 10.91 seconds. Her 200 m time improved from 23.19 seconds to 21.71 seconds (equaling the world record) in the 1986 season.
Her 21.71 second performance for 200 m was run into a head wind of −0.8 m/s. By comparison, Marita Koch's 21.71 second runs in 1979 and 1984 had tail winds of +0.7 m/s and +0.3 m/s respectively.
Drechsler's 200 m performance of 21.71 seconds into a head wind (−0.8 m/s) is one of the fastest ever run by a woman in the history of track and field.
In October 1986, she was awarded a Star of People's Friendship in gold (second class) for her sporting success. Several German websites, including her own, claim that Heike Drechsler was voted "Athlete of the Century" in 1999 by the IAAF. This is not quite correct: she was put on the "shortlist", but the award was given to Fanny Blankers-Koen.
Personal records
Long jump
1983: 7.14 m (23 ft 5 in) in Bratislava / (Juniors)
1985: 7.44 m (24 ft 5 in) in East Berlin
1986: 7.45 m (24 ft 5+1⁄4 in) in Tallinn
1988: 7.48 m (24 ft 6+1⁄2 in) in Neubrandenburg[6]
1992: 7.63 m (25 ft 1⁄2 in) in Sestriere[6]
Drechsler's 1992 jump in Sestriere was made with a tailwind of 2.1 meters per second, just 0.1 m/s over the allowable level of 2.0 m/s to be considered a world record; it was also performed at an altitude of greater than 1000 meters above sea level, which is the level beyond which marks are designated to have been achieved "at altitude." The jump is 11 cm longer than the current world record.
200 meters
1986: 21.71 seconds in Jena[7][8][9]
1986: 21.71 seconds in Stuttgart[7][9]
Heptathlon
1981: 5891 Points (Junior)
1994: 6741 Points in Talent
