Heike DRECHSLER

Heike Drechsler had an incredible international athletics career. She was a versatile all round athlete, a dominant force in the long jump for the whole of her career, in the sprint events in the first ten years, and in one season, she headed the world rankings in the heptathlon. In 1982, at the age of 17, she came fourth in the long jump at the European Championships held in Athens. The following year, still competing under her maiden name of Daute and representing East Germany, Heike won the gold medal in the long jump (see photo above) at the first World Championships held in Helsinki. In the process she defeated Rumania's Anisoara Cusmir, who had broken the world record three times earlier in the season. Heike Daute was undefeated during 1984, setting the best three long jump marks in the world that season including a personal best of 7.40m. Unfortunately, she was denied the opportunity to test herself in Olympic competition that year due to the boycott by the eastern bloc countries. On 28 July, she married Andreas Drechsler, and thenceforth competed under her married name. She continued her dominance of the long jump in 1985 recording the best four performances of the year. The best of these performances was her first world record, set at the East German World Cup test in Berlin on 22 September. Having already registered the best mark in the competition, Drechsler jumped 7.44m on her last attempt, bettering Cusmir's record by 1 centimetre. At the World Cup in Canberra, Drechsler was in a class of her own. Her series in Canberra included jumps of 7.22m, 7.25m and the winning jump of 7.27m. By comparison runner up Galina Chistyakova (USSR) had a best jump of 7.00m. (Ron Casey)

During 1986, Heike Drechsler not only continued her dominance over the rest of the world's long jumpers, but also elevated herself to the top ranks of women's sprinting. With a 100m personal best of only 11.75sec prior to the season, Drechsler bettered 11 seconds on four occasions that season, with her best two performances occurring on two consecutive days. On 5 July, at the Bislett Games in Oslo, she won the 100m in a wind-assisted 10.80sec, only 0.04sec slower than the world record held by Evelyn Ashford (USA). The following day, at the Goodwill Games in Moscow, Drechsler narrowly lost to Ashford in the fastest race of the season, with both athletes recording the same time of 10.91sec. Drechsler's performances in the 200m were even more noteworthy. Prior to the season, her best time for the distance had been 23.19sec, but at the East German national championships on 29 June, she won in a time of 21.71sec, equalling the world record of compatriot Marita Koch. In her favoured long jump event, she increased her own world record set the previous year by 1 centimetre when she jumped 7.45m in an international match against the Soviet Union on 21 June. She equalled this record only 12 days later in Dresden with a phenomenal six jump series in which every jump was 7.20m or better. Her shortest jump of 7.20m would have been sufficient to win the competition, and only three other women jumped that distance or further during 1986. At the European Championships at Stuttgart in August, Drechsler breezed through the qualifying rounds of the 200m (see photo above taken 1st August 1986 by G.H. ©) and then easily won the final in 21.71sec, again equalling the world record. Two days earlier, she had won her first European Championships gold medal in the long jump with a leap of 7.27m. (Ron Casey)