Jim Fielding was a high school track champion and record holder in the late 1940s.
Fielding was a standout sprinter for Metuchen High School in Metuchen, New Jersey. Fielding's speed was such that the Metuchen athletic director steered him toward track, not wanting him to get hurt playing football. He soon became a statewide success and was followed by the state's largest newspaper, the Newark Star Ledger . Fielding ran the 40 yard dash in 4.2 seconds, a United States schoolboy record at the time, the 100 yard dash in a wind-assisted 9.2 seconds, and the 220 yard sprint in under 21 seconds.
Fielding attended Georgetown University. He died while still a student at Georgetown.
Thomas Edward "Eddie" Tolan, nicknamed the "Midnight Express", was an American track and field athlete who competed in sprints. He set world records in the 100-yard dash and 100 meters event and Olympic records in the 100 meters and 200 meters events. He was the first non-Euro-American to receive the title of the "world's fastest human" after winning gold medals in the 100 and 200 meters events at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In March 1935, Tolan won the 75, 100 and 220-yard events at the World Professional Sprint Championships in Melbourne to become the first man to win both the amateur and professional world sprint championships. In his full career as a sprinter, Tolan won 300 races and lost only 7.
Robert Lee Hayes, nicknamed "Bullet Bob", was an American sprinter and professional football player. After winning gold medals at the 1964 Summer Olympics, he played as a split end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. Hayes is the only athlete to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. He was a two-sport standout in college in both track and field and football at Florida A&M University. Hayes was enshrined in the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor in 2001 and was selected for induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in January 2009. Hayes is the second Olympic gold medalist to be inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, after Jim Thorpe. He once held the world record for the 70-yard dash. He also is tied for the world's second-fastest time in the 60-yard dash. He was once considered the "world's fastest human" by virtue of his multiple world records in the 60-yard, 100-yard, 220-yard, and Olympic 100-meter dashes. He was inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.
Ralph Cook Craig was an American track and field athlete. He was the winner of the sprint double at the 1912 Summer Olympics.
Melvin Emery Patton was an American sprinter, who set the world record of 9.2 seconds in the 100 yard dash in 1948. He also set a 220 yd world record in 1949 on a straightaway of 20.2, breaking the record held by Jesse Owens.
Otis Crandall Davis is a former American athlete, winner of two gold medals for record-breaking performances in both the 400 m and 4 × 400 m relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Davis set a new world record of 44.9 seconds in the 400 m event, and he became the first man to break the 45-second barrier.
William "Bill" Arthur Carr was an American athlete and double Olympic champion in 1932. Called the "Arkansas flyer," Carr never lost a race during his college and Olympic career.
Charles Edward "Charlie" Greene was an American track and field sprinter and winner of the gold medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay at the 1968 Summer Olympics.
David William Sime was an American sprinter, multi-sport athlete at Duke University, and a pioneering ophthalmologist. He won a silver medal in the 100-meter dash at the 1960 Olympic Games, and held several sprint records during the late 1950s.
Ivory Crockett is a retired American sprinter who, for a time, was "the world's fastest man" when he broke the world record for the 100-yard dash in 1974.
The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering 40 yards (36.576 m). It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a heavy impact on his prospects in college or professional football. This was traditionally only true for the "skill" positions such as running back, wide receiver, and defensive back, although now a fast 40-yard dash time is considered important for almost every position. The 40-yard dash is not an official race in track and field athletics, and is not an IAAF-recognized race.
Xavier Carter is an American retired professional track and field athlete. He attended Louisiana State University and was a star on the track and field team as well a member of the football team. Before LSU, Xavier Carter graduated from Palm Bay High School in Melbourne, Florida. He is the eleventh fastest sprinter in the 200 meters event with a personal best of 19.63 seconds.
Melvin Dean Gray is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) from 1971 to 1982. He attended college at the University of Missouri.
Trindon Jerard Holliday is a former American football wide receiver and return specialist. He was selected by the Houston Texans in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL draft. He played college football at LSU. At 5'5", Holliday is one of the shortest players in NFL history. He was also a member of the Denver Broncos, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco 49ers, and Oakland Raiders.
Marshall Dill is an American former sprinter. He is a native of Detroit and a 1971 graduate of Northern High School; Dill was one of the most successful interscholastic track and field athletes in the United States.
Charles William Martin was an American football player, track athlete, and sports coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for one season in 1912, compiling a record of 3–4–1.
Howard Porter Drew was an American track and field athlete who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics.
Claude Bracey, known variously as the "Texas Flyer," the "Dixie Flyer," and the "Texas Tornado," was an American sprinter who tied world records in the 100-yard and 100-meter races between 1928 and 1932. He competed for the United States at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam and also won the 100-yard and 220-yard sprints at the 1928 NCAA Men's Track and Field Championships.
Bernard Joseph Wefers Sr. was an American sprint runner.
Anthony Raye Ketchum is an American former sprinter.
Christian Coleman is an American professional track and field sprinter who competes in the 60 metres, 100 m and 200 m. The 2019 world champion in the 100 meters, he also won gold as part of men's 4 × 100-meter relay. He holds personal bests of 9.76 seconds for the 100 m, which made him the 6th fastest all-time in the history of 100 metres event, and 19.85 for the 200 m. Coleman is the world record holder for the indoor 60 meters with 6.34 seconds. He was the Diamond League champion in 2018 and 2023 and the world number one ranked runner in the men's 100 m for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 seasons.