Thomas Röhler

Thomas Röhler

Röhler competing in Werfertag in 2011.
Personal information
Nationality  Germany
Born (1993-04-02) 2 April 1993
Jena, Germany
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight 90 kg (200 lb)
Sport
Sport Track and field
Event(s) Javelin throw
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s) 91.28 m
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Germany
Olympic Games
2016 Rio de Janeiro Javelin throw
Updated on 21 August 2016.

Thomas Röhler (born 30 September 1991) is a German track and field Olympic gold medalist who competes in the javelin throw. He has a personal best of 91.28 m (299 ft 5 in)[1] for the event. He was the German national champion in 2012, 2013, and 2015

He represented Germany at the 2012 European Athletics Championships and the 2013 World Championships in Athletics. He has won medals at the European Cup Winter Throwing, the European Team Championships, and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Career

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.[2] 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.[3] He ended that year with a personal best throw of 76.37 m (250 ft 6 1⁄2 in) to place second at the German junior championships. The following year he improved to 78.20 m (256 ft 6 1⁄2 in) – a throw which brought him seventh place at the 2011 European Athletics U23 Championships.[4]

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 80.79 m (265 ft 0 1⁄2 in), which ranked him 54th in the world that year.[5] More crucial was his first national title win at the 2012 German Athletics Championships, where he defeated the more experienced Tino Häber.[6] 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.[7]

The 2013 season saw him achieve his first international medals and he consistently threw beyond eighty metres in competition.[4] 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 83.95 m (275 ft 5 in) at a meeting in Dessau – a performance that placed him 16th in the world that season.[8] 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.[4] 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.[3] He ended the year with a seventh-place finish at the Memorial Van Damme Diamond League meet.[4]

He and Latvian rival Sirmais repeated their placings at the 2014 European Cup Winter Throwing, the German again finishing second.[9] 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 84.74 m (278 ft 0 in) for third at the Meeting Areva in Paris. He improved this further at the Glasgow Grand Prix, throwing the javelin 86.99 m (285 ft 4 3⁄4 in) to take a surprise victory over reigning world champion Vitezslav Vesely.[10]

At the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, he won the Olympic Gold Medal for the Men's javelin throw with a distance of 90.30 m, narrowly missing the Olympic record of 90.57 metres set by Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Seasonal bests by year

References

  1. ↑ http://live.time4results.com/yu/2016/png/10-1-r.html
  2. ↑ About Me. Thomas Roehler. Retrieved on 2014-07-22.
  3. 1 2 THomas Rohler. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-07-22.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Thomas Rohler. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2014-07-22.
  5. ↑ Javelin Throw - men - senior - outdoor - 2012. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-07-22.
  6. ↑ "112. Deutsche Leichtathletik-Meisterschaften" (PDF). Deutscher Leichtathletik-Verband (in German). 17 June 2012.
  7. ↑ Qualification Results. European Athletics (2012). Retrieved on 2014-07-22.
  8. ↑ Javelin Throw - men - senior - outdoor - 2013. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-07-22.
  9. ↑ Results. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-03-26.
  10. ↑ Brown, Matthew (2014-07-12). Double Dutch delight for Schippers in Glasgow – IAAF Diamond League. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-07-22.
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