Olympic track and field athletes for the United States

Francis Joseph "Frank" Budd (July 20, 1939 – April 29, 2014) was an American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins. Budd was an Olympic athlete who competed in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, where he finished fifth in the finals of the 100 meter event and was part of the team that finished first in the 4×100 meter relay before being disqualified on a baton pass. He set the world record in the 100-yard dash with a time of 9.2 seconds in 1961, breaking the record that had been set by Mel Patton in 1948.

Tom O'Hara (July 5, 1942 – August 27, 2019) was an American middle-distance runner. He was the first native of the state of Illinois to break the four-minute barrier for the mile run when he ran 3:59.4 in 1963. O'Hara was born in Chicago, Illinois. He also held the world record for fastest mile indoors, which was set when he ran 3:56.6 on February 13, 1964. He beat that record on March 6 of the same year with a time of 3:56.4, a world record, later equalled by Jim Ryun but not beaten for ten years until Tony Waldrop ran 3:55.0 in 1974.
At St. Ignatius College Prep High School, in Chicago, Illinois, O'Hara was a star runner on the school's cross country and track and field teams, often running—and winning—the quarter mile, half mile, mile, and mile relay in a single meet. He was a member of the Loyola University Chicago track, cross country, and indoor track teams. He was the individual champion of NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship in 1962, and he participated in the 1500 m at the 1964 Summer Olympics, where he qualified for the semi-finals of the 1500 metres.

Lester Barber Stevens (February 28, 1884, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – January 1972, in Waukesha, Wisconsin) was an American athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. In the 100 meters, Stevens won his first round heat with a time of 11.2 seconds to advance to the semifinals. There, he placed fourth in his race and did not advance to the final.

Roy Staley (April 18, 1915 – March 25, 2001) was an American hurdler. He competed in the men's 110 metres hurdles at the 1936 Summer Olympics.

Vern McGrew (December 7, 1929 – January 9, 2012) was an American high jumper. He competed in the high jump event at the 1948 Summer Olympics at the age of eighteen. He used the western roll technique, which was common at the time, and in 1948 achieved a career best clearance of 2.04 meters (6 ft 8¼ in).Born in Big Spring, Texas, he went on to attend Lamar High School in Houston, graduating in 1946. That year he won the Texan state championship with a state record jump. He gained a place at Rice University and competed for the Rice Owls athletic team under their coach Emmett Brunson. McGrew became the second Rice alumnus to take part in an Olympic event, after Claude Bracey in 1928.The 1948 Olympics was his only major international appearance but he achieved some success at national level. While studying at Rice University he competed at the NCAA Championship, coming third in 1948 and finishing as runner-up in 1949. He completed this upward trend by winning the NCAA high jump title in 1950 with a jump of over two meters (6 ft 7 in). At the national-level AAU Championship meeting he was third in 1948 (where he gained Olympic selection), but managed only fifth place the year after.McGrew undertook post-graduate study at the University of Texas and later the University of Texas Law School. He signed up for military service from 1954 to 1956. He did not take part in athletics in his later life and instead used his studies to gain a placement at Humble Oil, at which he spent 30 years of his working life. He retired in the 1980s and lived until the age of 82. He died at Methodist Hospital in Houston.