Born Leederville W.A.
27 February 1936 – 26 January 1995
Ian Tomlinson was Australia’s outstanding triple jumper between 1957 and 1965. He was the triple jump gold medallist at the 1958 Cardiff Commonwealth Games and defended that title successfully in Perth four years later.
His winning leap in the Cardiff was 15.79 (51ft 9 3/4in) and he improved to 16.21 (53ft 2in) at the Perth games.
His high level performance earned him selection in the Australian teams for the Olympic Games in Rome (1960) and Tokyo (1964). He finished ninth in the triple jump in Rome and 14th in Tokyo.
In 1960 Tomlinson won the triple jump at the British Commonwealth versus the United States meeting and was second in a triangular contest between the Commonwealth, Japan and the United States.
Tomlinson, tall, angular and fast, dominated the triple jump at the national championships for nearly ten years he won the title in 1957, 1958, 1962, 1964 and 1965. He had a career best leap of 16.28m (53ft 5in) at Leederville Oval in 1962, three days before his 26th birthday. He was the national long jump champion in 1963 and made his farewell appearance at the Australian Championships in 966. He was also an above average sprinter and high jumper capable of clearing two metres.