TRACK AND FIELD / WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES : Heptathlon Turns Into Showdown of No-Names

The women’s heptathlon was supposed to result in the long-anticipated duel between two of track and field’s most enduring stars, the United States’ Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Germany’s Heike Drechsler.

But when neither could endure beyond Wednesday’s opening day, Russia’s Svetlana Moskalets and Syria’s Ghada Shouaa were left to battle. Let the International Amateur Athletic Federation try to market that one.

Joyner-Kersee, the two-time champion, never made it to the starting line after going home Monday because of leg injuries aggravated during her sixth-place finish in the long jump. Drechsler withdrew because of an injury after the third of Wednesday’s four events in the seven-event competition that concludes today. Another German who was expected to contend for a medal, 1991 champion Sabine Braun, withdrew because of an injury after the second event.

Moskalets leads with 3,941 points, followed by Shouaa with 3,850. The United States’ Kym Carter, who trains in Santa Barbara, is third with 3,842.

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If Shouaa needs advice on how to thrive as a female athlete from a Muslim country, she can ask Algeria’s Hassiba Boulmerka--she moved to France. Boulmerka won her second 1,500-meter title Wednesday in 4 minutes 2.42 seconds, finishing ahead of Great Britain’s Kelly Holmes (4:03.04). Ruth Wysocki of the United States was seventh in 4:07.08.

“This is a very important victory for Muslim women, particularly women in Algeria,” Boulmerka said. “What I do might give them motivation.” But Boulmerka denied a wire service report that she moved out of the athletes’ village here because of death threats from fundamentalists. “It was too crowded,” she said.

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Adding to the marathon, Portugal won its second women’s distance event with Fernanda Ribeiro’s victory in the 10,000. . . . The United States’ Mark Croghan, fifth in the steeplechase in the 1993 World Championships, did not qualify for the final after falling over the first barrier of the last lap. . . . Trying to double after winning the 100, Gwen Torrence easily advanced to the 200 semifinals.