Juho Pietari "Hannes" Kolehmainen was a Finnish four-time Olympic gold medalist and a world record holder in middle- and long-distance running. He was the first in a generation of great Finnish long-distance runners, often named the "Flying Finns". Kolehmainen competed for a number of years in the United States, wearing the Winged Fist of the Irish American Athletic Club. He also enlisted in the 14th Regiment of the National Guard of New York, and became a U.S. citizen in 1921.
Dame Denise Rosemarie Lewis is a British sports administrator and former sports presenter and athletics athlete, who specialised in the heptathlon.
Maureen Angela Jane Dyson was a British athlete who competed mainly in the 80 metres hurdles. She won silver medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics and 1950 European Athletics Championships, both times losing to Fanny Blankers-Koen. She was coached by Geoff Dyson, whom she married one month after the 1948 Olympics.
Dorothy Gladys Manley was a British sprinter. She competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics, held in London, in the 100 metres where she won the silver medal with a time of 12.2 seconds. She was the first British woman to win an Olympic sprint medal. She was also a medallist in the 1950 British Empire Games, and the 1950 European Athletics Championships.
Olga Gyarmati was a Hungarian all-round track and field athlete who competed at three Olympic Games in four different events. Her greatest success was winning the inaugural Olympic Women's Long Jump competition in London in 1948. Additionally, she won two Universiade gold medals and a number of Hungarian Athletics Championships titles in sprint and jumping events.
Jean Catherine Pickering was a female track and field athlete from Great Britain, who competed mainly in the 80 metres hurdles and long jump.
Helen Orr "Elenor" Gordon was a Scottish breaststroke swimmer who represented Great Britain at the 1948, 1952 and 1956 Olympics, and Scotland at the 1950 and 1954 British Empire Games. She won an Olympic bronze medal in the 200-metre breaststroke in 1952 and three gold medals at the British Empire Games.
Marilyn Fay Neufville is a retired sprint runner who was active between 1967 and 1971. Neufville broke the world record in the 400 m and won four gold medals and one bronze in various regional championships. Born in Jamaica, she emigrated at eight years old to Great Britain.
Adhemar Ferreira da Silva was a Brazilian triple jumper. He won two Olympic gold medals and set four world records, the last being 16.56 metres in 1955 Pan American Games. In his early career he also competed in the long jump, placing fourth at the 1951 Pan American Games. He broke world records in triple jump on five occasions during his illustrious career. To date, he remains the only track and field athlete from South America to have won two Olympic gold medals.
Evelyn Tokue Kawamoto, also known by her married name as Evelyn Konno, was an American competition swimmer, and American record holder, who won bronze medals in the 400-meter individual freestyle and the 4x100-meter freestyle relay events at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. She set American records in both the 300-meter IM and 200-meter breaststroke in 1949. After graduating the University of Hawaii in her 30's with a degree in Education, she worked as an elementary school teacher.
Nikolaos Syllas was a Greek athlete who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics, in the 1948 Summer Olympics, and in the 1952 Summer Olympics. He was born in Chios. At the 1952 edition he was flag bearer for Greece.
Alan Sinclair Paterson was a British track and field athlete who competed in the high jump. He was one of Europe's best high jumpers during the immediate post-World War II period. He was the champion at the European Athletics Championships in 1950 and was also silver medallist at the 1946 event. He won a silver medal for Scotland at the 1950 British Empire Games.
Andrea Joan Caron Lynch is a British former track and field sprinter who competed mainly in the 100 metres. A two-time Olympian, the peak of her career was becoming a bronze medallist in the 100 m at the 1974 European Championships and a double silver medallist in the 100 m and 4 × 100 metres relay at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games. A former British record holder in the 100 m, she has a hand-timed best of 10.9 seconds in 1974 and an auto-timed best of 11.16 secs in 1975. Her 200 metres best is 23.15 secs in 1975.
Winsome Cripps was an Australian sprinter who competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics and the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.
Lilián Heinz is an Argentine sprinter who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics and won medals in two Pan American Games.
Liliana Tagliaferri is an Italian sprinter who is twice National Champion at 100 metres and competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics and the 1952 Summer Olympics.
Doris M. Batter was a British sprinter, who competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics.
Pamela Georgina Elliott was a British hurdler. She competed in the women's 80 metres hurdles at the 1952 Summer Olympics. She was the bronze medallist at the 1954 European Athletics Championships.
Bevis Shergold was a British track and field athlete who competed in the 1938 European Athletics Championships and the 1948 Summer Olympics.
The WAAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Women's Amateur Athletic Association (WAAA) in England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event for women during its lifetime.
