| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British (Northern Irish) |
| Born | c.1939 [1] |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event(s) | Long jump, triple jump |
| Club | Short and Harland AC Albert Foundry AC |
Thomas Cairns (born c.1939) is a former athlete from Northern Ireland, who represented Northern Ireland at the British Empire and Commmonwealth Games (now Commonwealth Games).
Carins attended Belfast Royal Academy [1] and was a member of the Short and Harland Athletic Club [2] before he joined the Albert Foundry Athletics Club in Belfast.
He won the long jump title at the 1958 Summer Athletic League trophy meeting [3] but was stronger in the triple jump, winning the championship of Northern Ireland in June 1958. [4] Shortly afterwards he jumped 46ft 5ins, which nearly broke the 24-year-old record set by Eddie Boyce in 1934. [5]
Cairns was named by the Northern Ireland AAA in the final 1958 Northern Irish Team for the forthcoming Empire and Commonwealth Games. [6] He subsequently competed at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Wales, [7] participating in the two athletics events; [8] [9] the triple jump [10] and long jump. [11]
Cairns attended Queen's University Belfast and was the 1959 Irish triple jump champion. [12] Cairns also played for rugby and was captain of the British Thomson-Houston team. [13]