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Heike Drechsler

Heike Drechsler
Osaka07 Opening Heike Drechsler.jpg
Drechsler at the opening ceremony of the 2007 World Championships in Athletics
Personal information
Birth name Heike Gabriela Daute
Nickname(s) Heike Spix
Nationality Germany
Born (1964-12-16) 16 December 1964 (age 52)
Gera, Thüringen, East Germany
Height 181 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 68 kg (150 lb)
Sport
Sport Track and field
Updated on 30 June 2015.

Heike Gabriela Drechsler German pronunciation: [ˈhaɪ.kə ga.bʁiˈe.la ˈdʁɛks.lɐ] née Daute (born 16 December 1964) is a German and previously East German former track and field athlete. She is one of the most successful female long jumpers of all time and also had several successes in sprint disciplines. She is the only woman who has won two Olympic gold medals in the long jump (1992 and 2000).

Drechsler was born in Gera, Thuringia, then East 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 her Father inlaw Erich Drechsler.

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 metres sprint (21.71 seconds) world record and set two long jump world records and equalled one in 1985 and 1986. As of 2000, she had more than four hundred long jump competitions with results over seven meters, more than any other female athlete.


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