By NESHA STARCEVIC

Associated Press Writer

MUNICH, Germany (AP) Heike Drechsler won her first major title in 1983, when some of today's track stars were in diapers.

Now 37 and the owner of two Olympic gold medals, the German long jumper is still among the elite.

When the European Track and Field Championships open Tuesday, Drechsler will be going for a record fifth straight title in the long jump.

In the 1980s, Drechsler's contemporaries were such all-time greats as Carl Lewis and Sergei Bubka. While those two are long retired, Drechsler is still going strong and has no plans to quit.

"I'll continue next year," Drechsler said. "Right now, I have no doubts about it."

She wants to compete at next year's World Championships.

"Why should I quit if I can still win medals? As long as I am successful and having fun, I am going to be around," said Drechsler, the mother of a 12-year-old boy.

"I like to see how much I can still motivate myself and produce top performances. It is also a challenge to learn to deal with your body and injuries that you didn't have in the early years of your career."

Drechsler has been battling injuries in recent years. She sat out the indoor track season with a calf injury. By early July, she still was out of shape.

She and her coach, Dan Vladescu, went to Romania to train. Less than two weeks ago, Drechsler jumped 22 feet, 5¾ inches at a meet in Germany to stamps herself as a medal contender.

"I have power, I have speed and my run-up is good," Drechsler said. "I want to mix it up with Tatiana Kotova now."

Kotova, a Russian, has the best jump of 2002 (24-4¼) and is the favorite for the gold medal. But Drechsler isn't intimidated.

"I know that I still have a few things to improve to be able to compete with her," Drechsler said. "She's been jumping very well. But no one is invincible and at the Olympics in Sydney, she was only fourth."

Two years ago at the Summer Olympics, Drechsler won her second gold medal, adding to that from the 1992 Barcelona Games.

In her remarkable career, Drechsler also has twice won gold at the World Championships (1983, 1993). In addition to the four straight European titles in the long jump, Drechsler also won the 200 meters in 1986. She was also a top heptathlete.

Injuries forced her to miss the World Championships in 1995, '99 and '01. Otherwise, her medal collection might be larger.

Drechsler's bid to add to that collection will be one of the main story lines of the 18th European Championships.

Munich's Olympic Stadium has been given a $3.8 million facelift, and athletes will stay in the nearby Olympic village for the first time since the Summer Games in 1972, when Palestinian terrorists killed 11 Israeli athletes.

On the track, the men's 800 meters figures to have a showdown between world record holder Wilson Kipketer of Denmark and Olympic champion Nils Schumann of Germany.

Among defending champions, two British athletes, Colin Jackson (in the 110 hurdles) and Jonathan Edwards (triple jump), are expected to win gold again.

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