East German Woman Jumps a Record 24-0

NEW YORK —  East Germany’s Heike Drechsler, restricted by what she called a short pit, nevertheless became the first woman’s long jumper to exceed 24 feet indoors Friday in the Mobil Track and Field Championships, while American Mike Conley became the first triple jumper to exceed 58 feet indoors.

The long-legged, 22-year-old Drechsler leaped 24 feet 0 inch, breaking the world indoor record of 23-11 she had set Jan. 15, 1986 at Berlin and shattering the meet record by nearly one foot.

Conley sailed 58-3, shattering the world indoor record of 57-11 3/4, set earlier this year by Oleg Protsenko of the Soviet Union.

The remarkable performances by Drechsler and Conley highlighted an afternoon program that also included two other marks.

Drechsler’s countrywoman, Cornelia Oschkenat, originally was given credit for a world indoor best time of 7.22 seconds but later the clocking was revised to 7.48, well above the mark of 7.36 by American Stephanie Hightower-Leftwich. A malfunction of the photo timing equipment caused the error on Oschkenat’s original time.

Diane Dixon lowered her American record in the women’s 400 meters from 52.13 to 52.00 during a trial heat, and Clarence Daniel of the U.S. set a meet record of 47.27 during a trial heat in the men’s 400.

The 5-11 Drechsler had set the championship record of 23-0 3/4 last year.

This time, she surpassed that with her only two legal jumps. Four of her attempts resulted in fouls, and the other legal jump was 23-7.

Drechsler, ranked No. 1 in the world in the women’s long jump for the past four years, also owns the world outdoor record of 24-5 1/2, a distance she reached twice last year.

In addition to her record jump Friday, she had two tremendous leaps, on her first and last tries, but both were fouls.

After the first attempt, in which she landed near the back of the pit, she said through an interpreter, “I was afraid.”

“The pit could have been longer,” she added. “I think my landing was restricted because of the shortness of the pit.

“That (the record jump) was not my optimum performance.”

The powerful and fast Drechsler, who also is ranked No. 1 in the world in the women’s 200 meters, in which she twice equaled the world record last year, said she thought she would be able to jump farther next week during the inaugural World Indoor Championships at Indianapolis “because the track there is better.”

“But there, the victory is what matters, because it’s the world championships,” she said.

After the first jump “scare,” Drechsler adjusted her run-up, moving back slightly, then nailed the record on her second try.

In addition to having to adjust her run-up, she was forced to fix her jumping shoes because the surface at Madison Square Garden was “too smooth.”

Drechsler’s efforts were watched by only about 200 spectators, mostly coaches and athletes, who were in attendance for the meet’s early session.

“I’m a little sad not to have had spectators,” she said. “If there were more spectators, I might have jumped longer.”

In comparison to Drechsler’s 24-foot jump, no American has yet to reach 23 feet indoors. The best American jumper, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, skipped the long jump to concentrate on the 55-meter high hurdles. Joyner-Kersee’s U.S. indoor record is 22-10.

Galina Chistyakova of the Soviet Union finished a distant second to Drechsler, nearly two feet back, at 22-3 3/4. Carol Lewis, the former American record holder, was third at 21-11 1/2.

Meanwhile, the 24-year-old Conley, ranked No. 1 in the world in the triple jump, won the national indoor title for a third consecutive year, with the record leap on his final attempt.

The 1984 Olympic silver medalist and world’s No. 1-ranked triple jumper also broke the meet record and the U.S. all-comers’ record of 57-7 3/4, set earlier in the competition by Protsenko. He also came close to the world outdoor record of 58-11 1/2, by American Willie Banks.

Conley said before his final jump, “I had to make up my mind whether I would settle for second place or set a world record. I’ve never set a world or American record, but I knew I had to do it.”

Conley said after his sensational leap, “I knew I had it. My toes were almost coming out of the pit.”

Three other finals were held at Princeton University, and East Germans won two of them.

East German Ulf Timmermann, former world indoor and outdoor record holder, took the men’s shot put at 70-11 3/4, easily beating Sergey Smirnov of the Soviet Union, the runner-up at 67-11 3/4.

Ilona Briesenick of East Germany took advantage of the absence of outdoor world record holder Natalya Lisovskaya of the Soviet Union to win the women’s shot put at 66-4 1/2. No explanation was given for Lisovskaya’s withdrawal.

Ramona Pagel, the U.S. record holder, finished second at 64-0 1/2.

American Lance Deal, benefiting by the absence of three-time defending champion Jud Logan, won the men’s 35-pound weight throw at 74-5. Logan, the American record holder, suffered a strained muscle during his final warmup throw and is expected to be out of training for 7-10 days.