Tom O'Hara (July 5, 1942 – August 27, 2019) was an American

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

. He was the first native of the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

to break the four-minute barrier for the mile run when he ran 3:59.4 in 1963. O'Hara was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 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 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 1 ...

but not beaten for ten years until

Tony Waldrop Tony Waldrop (December 29, 1951 – December 3, 2022) was an American academic administrator, researcher, and athlete. In 2014, he became the third president of the University of South Alabama. Early life Waldrop was born in Columbus, North C ...

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 Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

track, cross country, and indoor track teams. He was the individual champion of

NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship The NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country Championship is the cross country championship held by the National Collegiate Athletic Association each autumn for individual men's runners and cross country teams from universities in Division I. Teams a ...

in 1962, and he participated in the 1500 m at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

, where he qualified for the semi-finals of the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

References

Creamer, Robert. "From Humdrum To Well-done In One Easy Mile," ''Sports Illustrated'', February 24, 1964.

* ttp://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1076047/index.htm Underwood, John. "Running Is Such Sweet Torture," ''Sports Illustrated'', June 22, 1964.
Loyola Ramblers Hall of Fame Members – Loyola University Chicago.
1942 births 2019 deaths Track and field athletes from Chicago American male middle-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Loyola Ramblers athletes {{US-middledistance-athletics-bio-stub