 She married Andreas Drechsler in July 1984 and competed as "Heike Drechsler" from then on.She was coached by Erich Drechsler, her father-in-law.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.