Farewell Heike

years old German Heïke Drechsler, one of the most prominent athletes of the past two decades, made her last official appearance in Tahiti on 3 October.

Click here for related story

Heïke Drechsler, née Daute, began her career as an all-rounder, winning the Spartakiad at High Jump and Long Jump in 1979, and scoring a Heptathlon World Junior record in 1981. Then the East-German started to specialise at Long Jump and soon became a phenomenon, as she still owns World age bests for each age from 15 to 19.

Youngest inaugural World champion

She was the youngest winner at the inaugural senior IAAF World Championships in 1983 and reconfirmed that standard the following year with an undefeated season marked by the Olympic boycott of the Eastern Block.

The 1.81m/69kg athlete managed 11.2 at 100m and 14.50m in the Shot Put during training tests. As such, Heptathlon seemed to suit her well, but in 1985, she instead tried the sprints (7.35 at 60m indoors, 23.19 at 200m outdoors) - for the first time since 1981 - and had a great breakthrough the next year taking Marita Koch’s 100 yards World Indoor best and equalling her 200m outdoor World record in the summer. In the meantime, she jumped the Long Jump World record three times (7.44 – 1985, and 7.45 twice in 1986).

JJK - Arch rival

Further sprinting ability was shown with a 35.0 time-trial at 300m and a 50.0 relay leg during a 4x400m, and coached by Peter Hein, she took sprint medals at 1987 World Championships and 1988 Olympics. However, she was beaten on both occasions in the Long Jump by American Jackie Joyner-Kersee who also had equalled her World record in 1987.

It was after the Seoul Olympics that Drechsler decided to have a child, and her son Toni was born in November 1989.

Drechsler was one of the few ex-GDR athletes whose sport results went unaffected by reuinification. Under the guidance of Erich, her father-in-law, she started to compete more often in the Long Jump and paid less attention to the sprints. Finally, she even got the best of her long-time rival JJK with a long-awaited Olympic gold in 1992.

She had gained confidence just before those Barcelona Games with her career masterpiece, a 7.63 jump achieved at high altitude in Sestrieres and with a +2.01 following wind, just 0.01 above the limit for World record ratification.

Drechsler followed this feat with the 1993 World title in Stuttgart in front of a friendly and joyful German crowd. Then in 1994, despite having not contested a Heptathlon for 13 years, she scored the best total of the year (6741pts).

Injuries and final triumph

Since 1995, her career has been hampered by injuries which forced her to miss the 1996 Olympics. After surgery on her Achilles tendon and knee, she chose to be coached by her partner and former decathlete Alain Blondel. These changes saw her return for a fourth European title in the Long Jump in 1998. Injured again in 1999, she accomplished her last great feat in 2000 by winning her second Olympic Gold.

Since then, it has been a continuous battle to avoid physical problems and to reach for a last time the 7 metres barrier which she has jumped at least 423 times in 165 competitions.

During her international career from 1981 to 2002, she had a winning rate of 72% (won 255 competitions out of 352), including a 27 competition win-streak between 1985 and 1987 which makes Heïke Drechsler the most prolific jumper of all-time.

Pierre-Jean Vazel for the IAAF

Major Championship results :
Olympic Games : 1988 – 2nd LJ, 3rd 100m and 200m ; 1992 – 1st LJ ; 1996 – 1st LJ.
World Championships: 1983 – 1st LJ ; 1987 – 2nd 100m, 3rd LJ ; 1991 – 2nd LJ, 3rd 4x100m ; 1993 – 1st LJ ; 1995 – 9th LJ, dnf Hepta ; 1997 – 4 ; 2001 – dnq.
European Championships: 1982 – 4th LJ ; 1986 – 1st 200m and LJ ; 1990 – 1st LJ, 2nd 200m ; 1994 – 1st LJ ; 1998 – 1st LJ ; 2002 – 5th LJ.

At Long Jump, won 4 World Cups, 7 European Cups, 4 European Indoor Championships, 33 GDR/GER titles indoor and outdoor.

World Records :
3 at Long Jump (7.44, 7.45 twice) in 1985-86, 2 at 200m (21.71 twice) in 1986. 
Indoor:
3 at 100 yards best (10.24 twice 10.15) in 1986-87, 1 at 200m (22.27) in 1987, 6 at Long Jump (6.88, 6.99 twice, 7.25, 7.29, 7.37) in 1983-1988.

Drechsler's career

YEAR

Best 

Average

Comps

Wins

1977

4.40

1978

5.69

1979

6.07

1980

6.64/6.70w

1981

6.91/7.01w

6.60

10

6

1982

6.98

6.61

14

4

1983

7.14/7.27w

6.92

12

11

1984

7.40

7.14

12

12

1985

7.44

7.15

15

12

1986

7.45

7.24

13

13

1987

7.40

7.22

11

10

1988

7.48

7.16

15

13

1989

No comp

1990

7.30

7.08

12

11

1991

7.37/7.39w

7.09

23

21

1992

7.48/7.63w

7.13

30

26

1993

7.21

7.03

28

26

1994

7.29/7.39w

7.02

33

26

1995

7.09i/7.07

6.89

23

20

1996

6.96i/6.75/
6.87w

6.74

11

5

1997

6.95/7.02w

6.72

14

5

1998

7.16

6.89

19

9

1999

6.91

6.75

10

5

2000

6.99/7.07w

6.75

22

9

2001

6.79

6.58

16

5

2002

6.85

6.54

9

6

2003

6.07

6.07

1

0

2004

6.49

6.26

10

1