Emil Zátopek (Czech pronunciation: [ˈɛmɪl ˈzaːtopɛk] ( listen)) (September 19, 1922 – November 22, 2000) was a Czech long-distance runner best known for winning three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He won gold in the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres runs, but his final medal came when he decided at the last minute to compete in the first marathon of his life. He was nicknamed the "Czech Locomotive" for his multiple golds.

Zátopek was the first athlete to break the 29-minute barrier in the 10 km run (in 1954). Three years earlier, in 1951, he had broken the hour for running 20 km. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest runners of the 20th century and was also known for his brutally tough training methods.

Emil Zátopek was born in Kopřivnice, Czechoslovakia on September 19, 1922, as the sixth child of a modest family. When Zátopek was 16, he began working in a Bata shoe factory in Zlín. Zátopek says that "One day, the factory sports coach, who was very strict, pointed at four boys, including me, and ordered us to run in a race. I protested that I was weak and not fit to run, but the coach sent me for a physical examination, and the doctor said that I was perfectly well. So I had to run, and when I got started, I felt I wanted to win. But I only came in second. That was the way it started." Zátopek finished second out of the field of 100. After that point, he began to take a serious interest in running.

Alain Mimoun (born January 1, 1921) is a retired Frenchrunner and Olympic marathon champion.

Born in El Telagh, then in French Algeria, Mimoun lost several years of competition to World War II. After the war, he was the French champion in the 5000 metres and 10000 metres.

Mimoun's path to an Olympic gold medal was blocked in both 1948 and 1952 by Czech runner Emil Zátopek. Mimoun won silver medals in 10000 metres in 1948 and 1952 as well as another silver medal in 5000 metres in 1952. His second place finishes behind Zátopek gave him the nickname "Zátopek's Shadow." He finally won a gold medal in the marathon at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.

Mimoun made the French team for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. He won his final national championship in 1966, twenty years after his debut.

The athletics stadium in Bugeat, France is named in Mimoun's honor.

Silvio Román Guerra Burbano (born September 18, 1968 in San Gabriel, Carchi) is a well-regarded Ecuadorian athlete and olympic participant. A member of Concentración Deportiva de Pichincha he represented Ecuador at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States, the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. He also qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. He has won many tournaments. He has held the Ecuadorian marathon record since 1997, 2:09:49. This was achieved at the Chicago Marathon.

Guerra has won numerous medals at the South American Cross Country Championships: starting with a silver medal in 1993, gold the following year, a second silver in 2000, and finally a bronze medal in 2005.