American male middle-distance runners

James_Ronald_Ryun

James Ronald Ryun (born April 29, 1947) is an American former Republican politician and Olympic track and field athlete, who at his peak was widely considered the world's top middle-distance runner. He won a silver medal in the 1500 m at the 1968 Summer Olympics, and was the first high school athlete to run a mile in under four minutes. He is the last American to hold the world record in the mile run. Ryun later served in the United States House of Representatives from 1996 to 2007, representing Kansas's 2nd congressional district.

Tom_O'Hara

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.