Heike Drechsler

Heike Drechsler at the European Championships 2002

Heike Drechsler (born Heike Gabriela Daute; born December 16, 1964 in Gera ) is a former German track and field athlete, the 1992 and 2000 Olympic champion in the long jump.

Sporting career

1983 in Helsinki she became world champion in the long jump for the first time. The then 18 -year-old thus became the youngest to date long jump world champion and in the GDR celebrated athlete. In 1986, she was like many other performers SED deputies to the People's Chamber. From 1986 to 1998 she took at the European Athletics Championships every time the gold medal in the long jump.

It has also had success in the sprint. She won gold at the European Championships in 1986 in the 200 - meter race at the 1987 World Championships silver over 100 meters at the 1988 Olympic Games bronze in the 100 and 200 meters at the European Championships in 1990 and silver over 200 meters.

In the 1992 Olympics she was first long jump Olympic champion, and took the following year at the World Championships in Stuttgart once again gold. Her second Olympic gold medal she won in Sydney in 2000.

In addition to the long jump and the sprints Heike Drechsler also ran successfully the heptathlon. In 1994 they reached the Décastar in French Talence their record and also a Weltjahresbestleistung of 6741 points ( 13.34 / -0.3 - 1,84 - 13.58 to 22.84 / -1.1 - 6.95 / 1 0 to 40.64 - 2:11,53 ). This was her first official all-around after 13 years. In 1981, she had set a junior world record with 5891 points in her last heptathlon before.

In 1986, she was the GDR female athlete of the year and 2000 Sportswoman of the Year in Germany. The Polish Press Agency PAP chose to Europe in 1986 Sportswoman of the Year, the same title she received from the Association of European sports journalists ( UEPS ). In 1998 she was awarded the Bambi. Numerous websites claim that Heike Drechsler had been elected to the athlete of the century in 1999; However, this is not entirely correct: it was but was indeed on the shortlist, selected Fanny blanker - Koen. From the readers and the experts of the national trade magazine athletics, she was named world athlete of the century and selected by the prestigious magazine Track & Field for the long jumper of the century.

Heike Drechsler's goal was originally to end their career by participating in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, but after formal problems in qualifying they withdrew their participation. On September 12, 2004, she went to one last time at the ISTAF in Berlin and was adopted from active competition before more than 60,000 spectators. On 6 May 2005, the formal end of their careers in Gera was committed. She was appointed an honorary citizen of the city. Currently she is an expert on sports Athletics at the sports channel Euro Sport. During the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki Heike Drechsler was honored with a Fair Play Award.

Heike Drechsler launched until 1990 for the SC Motor Jena from 1991 to 1994, the TuS Jena, 1995 and 1996 for the LAC Chemnitz, 1997 and 1998 for the Erfurt LAC, 1999 and 2000 for ABC Ludwigshafen and from 2001 for Karlsruher SC. Your coaches were Peter Hein, Erich Drechsler and Alain Blondel. In her playing days she weighed 70 kg at a height of 1,81 m.

Private

Heike Drechsler Heike Gabriela was born Daute and grew up with three siblings. As a child she was an orphan because her father was killed. After a successful high school she completed an apprenticeship as a precision mechanic (optics) and studied education.

As IM Jump Drechsler was for the Ministry of State Security ( Stasi) operates.

In 1984 she married the former student athletes and football goalkeeper of FC Carl Zeiss Jena, Andreas Drechsler. For their son got Heike Drechsler 1997, after the divorce from her husband, awarded custody. From 1995 to 2007, she was romantically involved with former French decathlete Alain Blondel. Steffen Fichtner is her new life companion.

The name Spix, they would himself as birth name is derived from a couple of Aachen, with which it is known since the end of the GDR. Heike Drechsler was adopted by them in 1999.

Currently she lives in Karlsruhe, as employed by the Barmer GEK, and Aachen.

Records

Long jump:

1992 succeeded Heike Drechsler in the Italian Sestriere with 7.63 m width a fable, which, however, by a little too much tailwind (2.1 m / s - allowed 2.0 m / s) was favored.

200 -meter run:

Heptathlon:

Doping allegations

1991 was the doping opponents Berendonk Brigitte and Werner Franke several theses and dissertations former GDR doping researchers in the Military Medical Academy in Bad Saarow ( MMA) to make sure. Based on the work, let the state-organized doping practices of many well-known East German athletes, including Heike Drechsler reconstruct. According to the information received Heike Drechsler 1982-1984 high doses of Oral Turinabol plus more testosterone ester injections under the bridge doping before competitions. A trial of Brigitte Berendonk they accused of lying, lost Drechsler 1993., In the case turnery are still full annual dosing schedules and charts the development of competitive performance, depending on the dosage level before.

Awards (selection)

Work

• Heike Drechsler and Monika Zilliken: Fit with Kids - exercise fun for the whole family, Southwest Vlg / Random House GmbH, München 2010, ISBN 978-3-517-08590-6