Grete Waitz
Grete Waitz was a Norwegian marathon runner and former world record holder. In 1979, she became the first woman in history to run the marathon in under two and a half hours. She won nine New York City Marathons, women's division, between 1978 and 1988, more than any other runner in history. She won a silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and a gold medal at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki. Her other marathon victories included winning the London Marathon in 1983 and 1986. She was also a five-time winner of the World Cross Country Championships.
Waitz won 12 World Marathon Majors, the most for any runner.
Background
Born Grete Andersen in Oslo, Norway, Waitz was a talented young runner, but had difficulty in getting her parents to take her potential profession seriously. However, Waitz ran at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich in the 1500 metres, and to support her athletic career she studied at a teachers college.Career
In her teen years, Waitz won national junior titles in Norway in the 400 and 800 metres. At age 17 she set the European junior record for 1500 m with a time of 4:17 and won a bronze medal at the European Championships in this event in 1974. In 1975 Waitz broke the 3000 metres world record, running 8:46.6 in Oslo. In Oslo a year later she lowered this record with an 8:45.4 effort, then in 1977 she won a gold medal at this distance at the inaugural IAAF World Cup in Athletics meet in Düsseldorf with a personal best time of 8:43.50. Two years later in Montreal she won a silver medal, also in Oslo, she came to her all-time personal best of 8:31.75.She ran the 1500m in the 1978 European Athletics Championships in Prague on 3 September 1978. The run was won by Giana Romanova in 3:59.01. Waitz placed 5th, with her career best in the 1500 m 4:00.55. It still stands as the Norwegian national record. Back then it was the 8th best time for the 1500m. On 29 August at the Championships, she placed third in the 3000m s, with a time of 8:34.33. The winner was Svetlana Ulmasova with 8:33.16.
New York City Marathon 1978
It was in 1978 that her association with the New York City Marathon began; she was invited to run there by race co-founder and director Fred Lebow, and in her first appearance she not only won but took a full two minutes off the women's course record. On 22 October 1978, she finished in 2:32:29 more than 9 minutes ahead of Martha Cooksey 2:41:49. Cooksey won the San Diego Half Marathon on 26 Aug in 1:15:04. Her winning time there was a world best. During 1978 the world record in the women's marathon was 2:34:47.5 set on 10 Sep 1977 by Christa Vahlensieck at the Berlin marathon. The world record was broken on 3 Feb 1980 by Joan Benoit with 2:31:23 in Auckland. In 1981, the 1978 NYC course was remeasured and found 151 meters short. She further improved her NYC times with her following win in 1979 and 1980.According to the Association of Road Racing Statisticans Waitz had a 28 races winning streak from 22 September 1979 with a win in a 10-mile road race in Lynchburg until 8 June 1981 her win in a 3000m track race in Basel.
Waitz went on to win the race nine times and broke the course record three years in a row. In 1979 she won the NYC marathon in 2:27:33. Gillian Adams was the runner up with 2:38:33.
Her winning time in the 1980 edition was 2:25:41, Patt Lyons-Catalano placed second with 2:29:33.
In 1983 she set the world record to 2:25:29, which she ran at London. Besides her marathon victories in New York and the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki, Waitz also won the London Marathon in 1983 and 1986, as well as the Stockholm Marathon in 1988 at 2:28:24.
Waitz enjoyed much success on the road at non-marathon distances as well, including a win at the Falmouth Road Race in 1980, four victories at the prestigious 10-km Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, five wins at the L'eggs Mini-Marathon in New York, and world road records at 8 km, twice in the 10-km, 15-km, and 10-mile distances. She further demonstrated her versatility by successfully competing in cross country, earning two bronze medals at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and winning the gold medal five times,, tying her with Doris Brown Heritage for most wins in the history of women's International/World Cross Country Championships.
Her last race was a victory at 5000 metres in Oslo in June 1982, in which her 15:08.80 was the second best in history, falling only a half second short of the world record set three weeks earlier by Mary Slaney.
The only significant award she did not win in her career was an Olympic victory. As an up-and-coming 19-year-old in Munich and then a 23-year-old running the 1500 m in Montreal, she competed, but did not medal, in an event that was far short of her specialty. In 1980, Norway was one of the countries that decided to boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. At the 1984 Summer Olympics, she was beaten in the marathon by Joan Benoit, placing second to take the silver medal. In the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea, a bad knee forced her to drop out of the women's marathon just after passing the 18-mile mark. She won a gold medal in the marathon at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki.
Waitz completed her last marathon on 1 November 1992 with her friend Fred Lebow. In celebration of Lebow's 60th birthday, after he was diagnosed with brain cancer in early 1990, they both completed the New York City Marathon with a time of 5:32:35.
Personal bests
- 1500 metres – 4:00.55 – Prague – 3 September 1978
- One mile – 4:26.90 – Gateshead – 9 July 1978
- 3000 metres – 8:31.75 – Oslo – 17 July 1979
- 15 kilometres – 47:52 – Tampa, FL – 11 February 1984
- Marathon – 2:24:54 – London – 20 April 1986
After retirement
In August 2009 it was revealed that Waitz had initiated a co-operation between her old sponsor, Adidas, and the cancer care foundation she started in 2007 – "Aktiv mot kreft". The co-operation would mean that the cancer care foundation would get 5% of the proceeds from Adidas' sale of their Grete Waitz and Modern Classics collections. This could be as much as NOK 500 million per year, which would go to the establishment of hospital physical training centres and investment in PET-scanners.
Death
Waitz died of cancer on 19 April 2011, aged 57. Waitz was survived by her husband Jack and her brothers Jan and Arild. The Norwegian government later announced she would be buried with government honor at state expense, the sixth woman in Norwegian history to be given this honor. This was equivalent to a state funeral, although in accordance with her family wishes the ceremony was private.Legacy
She won 13 out of 20 Marathons. Her 9 NYC Marathon wins, 2 London Marathon wins and 1 World Championship win, makes her the record holder for World Major Marathons.Waitz is widely acknowledged as helping to promote marathon and long-distance running for women. In Norway she is a sporting legend, with an annual race named after her in her honor. The New York Road Runners club annually sponsors "Grete's Great Gallop," formerly a half-marathon and now a 10K, in her honor.
There is a statue of her in the Norway pavilion in EPCOT at the Walt Disney World Resort. There is also a statue of her outside Bislett Stadium in Oslo, and she has been featured on a set of stamps. In addition, her portrait is featured on the tail of a Norwegian Air Shuttle 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
On 23 November 2008 Waitz was appointed a Knight 1st Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, bestowed by King Harald V of Norway in recognition of her being an important role model. Waitz received the St. Olav's Medal in 1981 and Medal of St. Hallvard in 1989.