Heike DRECHSLER

Although Heike Drechsler continued to compete in sprint events after 1990, it was not with the same intensity that she had done in previous years, and thenceforth she confined her participation in individual events at major international championships to the long jump. In 1991, Drechsler compiled an impressive long jump season, exceeding 7 metres in 17 competitions, and recording four of the year's top five jumps, including the best mark of 7.37m at Sestriere on 31 July. However, her old foe, and reigning Olympic and World champion, Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA) was also in top form that year, and their clash at the World Championships in Tokyo on August 25 was eagerly awaited. Joyner-Kersee jumped 7.32m on her first jump while Drechsler cleared 7.09m. Drechsler improved in her next round to 7.16m, and then to 7.29m on her third jump. Neither athlete improved with their last three jumps and Drechsler had to be content with the silver medal.

Drechsler also won her only relay medal at a major international championships in Tokyo, anchoring the German team to a bronze medal finish in the 4 x 100m relay. In 1992, Drechsler had an even more impressive long jump season than she had in 1991, winning 21 of her 24 outdoor competitions, and exceeding 7 metres in 23 of them. She recorded the year's longest jump of 7.48m which equalled her career best. At the high altitude resort of Sestriere on 21 July, she jumped a wind-assisted 7.63m, 11 centimetres further than any woman had ever jumped before. Competing against Jackie Joyner-Kersee at the Olympic Games in Barcelona on 7 August, Drechsler finally beat her old rival in a major international competition with a gold medal winning jump of 7.14m (see photo above). (Ron Casey)

 In 1993, Heike Drechsler continued her domination of the long jump, winning 26 of her 28 competitions, and registering the longest eight jumps of the year. One of her two defeats came from her old foe Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA) who beat Heike by 1 centimetre at Berlin on 27 August. Drechsler gained immediate revenge by beating Joyner-Kersee by 1 centimetre at Innsbruck the next day. Joyner-Kersee did not compete in the long jump at the World Championships at Stuttgart, and in her absence, Drechsler easily won her second world title, bettering 7 metres (the only competitor to do so) on four of her six jumps (see photo above. 15th August 1993  © G.H.), including a best jump of 7.11m. If there had been any doubt beforehand, an achievement by Drechsler in 1994 left nobody in any doubt of her incredible all round athletic ability.

Drechsler had competed in the heptathlon as a teenager, setting a world junior record at the age of 16, but she had not contested the event since 1981. In her first heptathlon in 13 years, Drechsler scored 6741 points in winning a competition at Talence on 10-11 September, which was the world's best heptathlon score in 1994. She didn't desert the long jump however, winning 19 of her 26 competitions. At the European Championships at Helsinki on 12 August, she easily won her third consecutive European title with a jump of 7.14m. Drechsler returned to Talence in 1995 to compete in another heptathlon, scoring 6375 points, ironically the same score as the 1995 best by heptathlon world record holder and old long jump foe Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Drechsler again dominated the long jump that year, but at the World Championships in Gothenburg, she experienced trouble with the swirling winds, fouling her first two jumps and failed to advance to the final three rounds. (Ron Casey)

 Heike Drechsler started her 1996 campaign strongly, winning all five of her indoor long jump competitions, including the year's best indoor mark of 6.96m at Stuttgart. However her outdoor season was cut short due to an injury to her right knee, preventing her from defending her Olympic long jump title at Atlanta. She came back from injury in 1997, with another good indoor season, including the year's second best indoor mark of 6.95m at Stuttgart. As was the case in 1996, she was unable to sustain this form in the outdoor season, and at her sixth World Championships in Athens, finished fourth, with a jump of 6.89m. Drechsler made a resurgence in 1998, jumping over 7 metres in four competitions (in one it was wind-assisted) and ranking second behind emerging talent Marion Jones (USA) in the year's list.

Drechsler won her fourth successive European long jump title at Budapest on 22 August with her year's best jump of 7.16m. The following month at Johannesburg, she defeated Jones in the World Cup, jumping 7.07m to Jones' 7.00m. Her series at Johannesburg was the best recorded in 1998, including two jumps of 7.07m. In 1999, Drechsler was again plagued by injury, and had only a limited number of competitions with a year's best of 6.91m. Her injury resulted in her missing her first World Championships since the competition was inaugurated in 1983. Just when it appeared that Drechsler's phenomenal career was starting to wane, she resurged again in 2000. On 29 September, at the Sydney Olympic Games, and less than three months short of her 36th birthday, Heike Drechsler won her second Olympic gold medal with her year's best jump of 6.99m (see photo above). (Ron Casey)