Old athlete running backwards in US, New Orleans (5)
I believe the answer is:
owens
'old athlete' is the definition.
(I know that Owens is a athlete)
'backwards in us new orleans' is the wordplay.
'backwards' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'in' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue.
'snewo' is hidden in the letters of 'us new orleans'.
'snewo' in reverse letter order is 'OWENS'.
'running' is the link.
This may not be correct. It may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for owens that I've seen before include "former athlete" , "Great athlete" , "Veteran runner" , "Jesse who ran" , "Jesse -, four-times Olympic gold medallist" .)