Christopher John Commons (born 9 December 1950) is a retired long jumper from Australia, who represented his country in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.[1][2][3]
Commons won silver medals in the 1974 and 1978 Commonwealth Games during his career.[4][5][6] A four-time national champion in the men’s long jump (1973–1976), he held the Australian Residential Long Jump Record of 8.08 metres.[7] He won the Pacific Conference Games in 1977 and was second in the event in 1973.[8]
He won the New Zealand Games in Christchurch in 1975 and competed in the World University Games (Universiade) in 1973 in Moscow.[9]
Commons was ranked sixth in the world by the magazine Track & Field News in 1975.[10] He received the Athlete of the Year award from the Athletics International organisation for the 1974–5 season.
As a young athlete, Commons was the Australian Junior Champion (under 19 years of age) in the triple jump for three consecutive years (1967–9).[11]
His brothers, Don Commons, a triple jumper, and David Commons, were also notable athletes.
Academic career
Commons completed a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in inorganic chemistry at the University of Melbourne in 1975.[12] In later years, he had a distinguished career as a teacher of chemistry and as an educational administrator.[13] He has authored numerous secondary school chemistry text books as well as chemistry research articles, in the fields of X-ray crystallography and coordination complexes.[14][15][16]
See also
- Australian athletics champions
- Athletics at the 1973 Summer Universiade
- Craven, John G. (2022). The Conquerors: 100 Geelong Region All-Time Sports Greats and Brownlow Medallists. Bas Publishing. ISBN 9-781921-49648-6.
References
- ^ “Olympians – Christopher Commons”. Australian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
- ^ “Olympedia- Chris Commons”. OlyMADMen. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
- ^ “Chris Commons”. www.sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
- ^ “A look back at the history of the men’s long jump at the Commonwealth Games”. Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
- ^ “Australia at the Games – Commonwealth Games 1974”. Australian Athletics. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
- ^ “Australia at the Games – Commonwealth Games 1978”. Australian Athletics. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
- ^ “Australian Open Track & Field Championships, Long Jump – Men”. Australian Athletics. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
- ^ “Christopher “Chris” Commons”. Australian Athletics. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
- ^ “Australia at the Games”. Australian Athletics. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
- ^ “Mens World Long Jump Rankings by Athlete”. Atrack and Field News. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
- ^ “Australian Junior Track & Field Championships, Triple Jump – Men”. Australian Athletics. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
- ^ “Christopher Commons”. ResearchGate. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
- ^ “CEA Chemistry Educator of the Year – Chris Commons 2004”. Chemistry Education Association. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
- ^ “ORCID – Christopher Commons”. ORCID. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
- ^ “Google Scholar – Christopher Commons”. Google Schola. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
- ^ “Christopher Commons”. ResearchGate. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
External links
- World Athletics – Chris Commons
- Australian Athletics Historical Results
- Commonwealth Games Medallists – Men
- Track & Field News All-Time World Rankings [1]
- Athletics International Award Winners [2]
- Pacific Conference Games Medallists [3]
