Thomas Röhler (born 30 September 1991) is a German track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. He is the 2016 Olympic Champion and 2018 European Champion. His personal best of 93.90 m for the event ranks him third on the overall list.

Career

Athletic performance Röhler began taking part in track and field as a child in 1998. Raised in Jena, he attended the Johann Christoph Friedrich GutsMuths Sports High school in the city and went on to study at the University of Jena.About Me. Thomas Roehler. Retrieved on 2014-07-22. He first competed mainly as a high jumper and a triple jumper.Thomas Rohler: I love javelin because... IAAF He began to make his impact as a junior (under-20) athlete in the javelin throw in 2010. That year he threw beyond seventy metres for the first time and represented his country at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics, where he finished in ninth place.Thomas Rohler. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-07-22. He ended that year with a personal best throw of to place second at the German junior championships. The following year he improved to – a throw which brought him seventh place at the 2011 European Athletics U23 Championships.Thomas Rohler. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2014-07-22.

He established himself as a senior athlete in 2012. He cleared eighty metres for the first time at a meeting in Sankt Wendel, getting a mark of , which ranked him 54th in the world that year.Javelin Throw – men – senior – outdoor – 2012. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-07-22. More crucial was his first national title win at the 2012 German Athletics Championships, where he defeated the more experienced Tino Häber. His personal best was not sufficient for entry to the 2012 London Olympics, but he was selected for the 2012 European Athletics Championships. On his senior debut for Germany, he placed 13th in javelin qualifying, equalling the mark of finalist Gabriel Wallin, but missing out due to having a shorter second throw.Qualification Results . European Athletics (2012). Retrieved on 2014-07-22.

The 2013 season saw him achieve his first international medals and he consistently threw beyond eighty metres in competition. At the 2013 European Cup Winter Throwing in March, he was the runner-up behind Latvia's Zigismunds Sirmais. At the end of May, he threw at a meeting in Dessau – a performance that placed him 16th in the world that season.Javelin Throw – men – senior – outdoor – 2013. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-07-22. On his debut on the 2013 IAAF Diamond League circuit, he placed top three at the Bislett Games. He was the silver medallist at the 2013 European Team Championships and retained his national title at the 2013 German Athletics Championships. In a high-quality competition at the 2013 European Athletics U23 Championships, he came third behind Sirmais and German teammate Bernhard Seifert. Röhler was chosen to compete for Germany at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics and on his global senior debut he did not perform well, having his worst competition of the year and failing to better 75 metres. He ended the year with a seventh-place finish at the Memorial Van Damme Diamond League meet.

He and Latvian rival Sirmais repeated their placings at the 2014 European Cup Winter Throwing, the German again finishing second.Results . European Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-03-26. He made regular appearances on the 2014 IAAF Diamond League circuit: he was fifth at the Prefontaine Classic and Bislett Games, then threw a best of for third at the Meeting Areva in Paris. He improved this further at the Glasgow Grand Prix, throwing the javelin to take a surprise victory over reigning world champion Vítězslav Veselý.Brown, Matthew (2014-07-12). Double Dutch delight for Schippers in Glasgow – IAAF Diamond League. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-07-22.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won the gold medal with a throw of 90.30 m, narrowly missing the Olympic record of 90.57 m set by Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In May 2017 Röhler launched the javelin to 93.90m at the Diamond League opener in Doha, Qatar. With that throw he moved to 2nd place on the world all-time list.

At the 2017 IAAF World Championships, he finished fourth with a throw of 88.26 m, six centimetres behind third place.

In July 2018, he won silver at the 2018 German Athletics Championships, with a throw of 88.09 m. In August, he won gold at the 2018 European Athletics Championships with a throw of 89.47 m.Javelin Throw Men European Athletic Association He won another gold medal in September, at the 2018 IAAF Continental Cup, with an 87.07 m throw.Report: men's javelin – IAAF Continental Cup Ostrava 2018 IAAF

At the 2019 World Athletics Championships, Röhler, with a best throw at 79.23 m, did not progress from the qualifying round.Achterbahnfahrt im Speerwurf: Vetter stark, aber Röhler und Hofmann scheitern! Kicker Following this qualifying-round exit at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Röhler experienced physical setbacks. In June 2021, he suffered a back injury during training forcing him to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympic Games.

He spent the next few seasons recovering and adjusting his technique, making brief international appearances, including the 2022 European Athletics Championships in Munich, where he was eliminated in the qualifiying round (71.31m). Röhler gradually returned to regular international competition, clearing 80m in 2024 (for the first time since 2019) and throwing a season´s best of 83.33m in 2026.

Off-field roles Röhler has served as an athlete representative in various roles, including the World Athletics Athletes Commission, advocating for athlete welfare.

Competition record Representing 2012European ChampionshipsHelsinki, Finland13th (q)Javelin throw78.89 m2013European Throwing CupCastellón, Spain2ndJavelin throw81.87 mWorld ChampionshipsMoscow, Russia29th (q)Javelin throw74.45 m2014European Throwing CupLeiria, Portugal.2ndJavelin throw81.17 mEuropean ChampionshipsZürich, Switzerland12thJavelin throw70.31 m2015World ChampionshipsBeijing, China4thJavelin throw87.41 m2016European ChampionshipsAmsterdam, Netherlands5thJavelin throw80.78 mOlympic GamesRio de Janeiro, Brazil1stJavelin throw90.30 m2017World ChampionshipsLondon, England4thJavelin throw88.26 m2018European ChampionshipsBerlin, Germany1stJavelin throw89.47 m2019World ChampionshipsDoha, Qatar23rd (q)Javelin throw79.23 m2022European ChampionshipsMunich, Germany22nd (q)Javelin throw71.31 m2026European ChampionshipsBirmingham, United Kingdom14th (q)Javelin throw78.67 m

Seasonal bests by year

2009 – 52.96 2010 – 76.37 2011 – 78.20 2012 – 80.79 2013 – 83.95 2014 – 87.63 2015 – 89.27 2016 – 91.28 2017 – 93.90 2018 – 91.78 2019 – 86.99

References

External links