In February 2008 he became the world's top long jumper of the year so far with a leap of 8.18m. He won the silver medal at the 2008 World Indoor Championships. He competed at the 2008 Olympic Games without reaching the final. On 20 August 2009, his record was broken by 1 cm by Greg Rutherford in the qualifying for the World Championships long jump final. Both Rutherford and Tomlinson progressed to the final.