He has barely competed during the season and also skipped the European Championship in Rome.
It was all due to an Achilles tendon injury that constantly made itself known, which later turned out to be something else.
We treated the Achilles tendon for a long time, but it later turned out to be the plantar tendon. Not everyone has it, but I apparently do, says Montler.
When we got that news, we could dare a bit more. It was quite decisive.
The result showed up quickly. In a rehearsal competition in Italy, he could perform with full force and reached 8.01 meters.
A glimmer of light during a tough period, and which makes him step into Stade de France and his second Olympic Games with a good feeling.
I know it's the first Olympic Games for many of my competitors, and that puts jelly in many people's legs. I've got the routine, I suppose.
At the same time, he will take the safe before the uncertain: he takes a pain-relieving tablet before the competition.
It's probably mostly so that if you were to feel something, you push the limit a bit. But everyone in there probably takes a tablet, says Thobias Montler.