Bodenmüller improved further the next year, winning the first of his five national titles at the Austrian Athletics Championships. He placed fourth at the 1987 European Athletics Indoor Championships with a best of , tenth at the 1987 IAAF World Indoor Championships, then seventh at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics. He threw an Austrian record mark of in Linz, which was to be the best outdoor performance of his career. He was pushed on the success of Günthör, who won what would be the first of his three world titles in the sport. Bodenmüller ended the year with a second-place finish at the Athletissima meeting.