BERLIN: Defending men's javelin champion Thomas Roehler has withdrawn from qualifying consideration for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics due to a back injury, he confirmed on Monday.
The German athlete has not sufficiently recovered from a back problem picked up in training. "I found it incredibly difficult to reject Tokyo. I weighed it carefully with my trainer, but in the end, my health comes first," Olympic's website quoted Roehler as a saying in a statement released by his team.
"I have to listen to my body now because I want to compete at the top level for a few more years. By participating at the Olympic Games, I would be risking too much, because of the back injury," the statement further read.
Roehler claimed the gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games with a winning throw of 90.30m. But now with Roehler's withdrawal, his compatriot Johannes Vetter will be the only man in the Tokyo field who has thrown over 93m. The latter, whose personal best is 97.76m, will have Jan Zelezny's world record 98.48 in his sights.
For Rohler, however, attention now turns to next year's European Championships on home soil in Munich -- where he is also the defending champion -- and World Championships in Eugene, Oregon.