Grete Waitz

Grete Waitz

Waitz in New York, 2010
Personal information
Full name	Grete Waitz
Nationality	Norwegian
Born	1 October 1953 Oslo, Norway
Died	19 April 2011 (aged 57) Oslo, Norway
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight	120 lb (54 kg)
Sport
Country	Norway
Sport	Track and field athletics
Event(s)	Marathon
Medal record Olympic Games 1984 Los Angeles Marathon World Championships 1983 Helsinki Marathon World Cross Country Championships 1978 Glasgow women's race 1979 Limerick women's race 1980 Paris women's race 1981 Madrid women's race 1983 Gateshead women's race 1982 Rome women's race 1984 East Rutherord women's race European Championships 1974 Rome 1500 m 1978 Prague 3000 m IAAF World Cup 1977 Dusseldorf 3000 m 1979 Montreal 3000 m

Grete Waitz (née Andersen, 1 October 1953 – 19 April 2011) 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 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.

Background

Born Grete Andersen in Oslo, Norway,^[1] 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. Her 4:00.55 career best in the 1500 m, set in Prague in 1978, still stands as the Norwegian national record. 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.

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 world record. She went on to win the race nine times and broke the world record three years in a row. In all, she lowered the women's world record by nine minutes, taking the standard from Christa Vahlensieck's 2:34:47 down to 2:32:30 in 1978, 2:27:33 in 1979, 2:25:41 in 1980, and finally to 2:25:29, which she ran at London in 1983. Besides her marathon victories in New York and the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki, Waitz also won the London Marathon in 1983 and 1986 (the latter in a personal best of 2:24:54), as well as the Stockholm Marathon in 1988 at 2:28:24 (which as of 2011 is still the Stockholm course record for women).

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 (25:03), twice in the 10-km (31:16 in 1979, then later to 30:59), 15-km (48:01), and 10-mile distances. She further demonstrated her versatility by successfully competing in cross country, earning two bronze medals (1982, 1984) at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and winning the gold medal five times, (1978-1981 and 1983), tying her with Doris Brown Heritage for most wins in the history of women's International/World Cross Country Championships.

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 (the longest event allowed for women in the Olympics up until 1984), 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.^[1]

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.^[2]

Personal bests

• 1500 metres - 4:00.55 - Prague - 03/09/1978
• One mile - 4:26.90 - Gateshead - 09/07/1978
• 3000 metres - 8:31.75 - Oslo (Bislett) - 17/07/1979
• 15 kilometres - 47:52 - Tampa, FL - 11/02/1984
• Marathon - 2:24:54 - London - 20/04/1986^[3]

After retirement

Although not competing at the top level, Waitz still ran in and organised corporate races in which she aimed to give advice and information on distance running and health. She also did charity work, particularly for the CARE International and the International Special Olympics. In June 2005 it was publicly known that she was undergoing treatment for cancer. She also coached Liz McColgan. For more than 25 years, Waitz served as the ambassador for the worldwide JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Series, promoting health and wellness to full-time workers. She provided regular training and motivational tips.^[4] Waitz was also a spokesperson for Avon Products.^[5]

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.^[6]

Death

Waitz died of cancer on 19 April 2011, aged 57.^[7] Waitz was survived by her husband Jack and her brothers Jan and Arild.^[8] 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.^[9] This was equivalent to a state funeral, although in accordance with her family wishes the ceremony was private.^[10]

Legacy

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," a half-marathon, 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.^[11] Waitz received the St. Olav's Medal in 1981 and Medal of St. Hallvard in 1989.

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Norway
1972	Olympic Games	Munich, Germany	heats	1500 m	4.16.0
1974	European Championships	Rome, Italy	3rd	1500 m	4.05.2
1976	Olympic Games	Montreal, Canada	semi-final	1500 m	4.04.80
1977	IAAF World Cup	Dusseldorf, Germany	1st	3000 metres	8:43.50
1978	World Cross Country Championships	Glasgow, United Kingdom	1st
	European Championships	Prague, Czech Republic	3rd	3000 metres	8:34.33
	New York City Marathon	New York City, USA	1st	Marathon	2:32:30
1979	World Cross Country Championships	Limerick, Ireland	1st
	IAAF World Cup	Montreal, Canada	2nd	3000 metres	8:38.59
	New York City Marathon	New York City, USA	1st	Marathon	2:27:33
1980	World Cross Country Championships	Paris, France	1st
	New York City Marathon	New York City, USA	1st	Marathon	2:25:41
1981	World Cross Country Championships	Madrid, Spain	1st
1982	World Cross Country Championships	Rome, Italy	3rd
	New York City Marathon	New York City, USA	1st	Marathon	2:27:14
1983	World Cross Country Championships	Gateshead, United Kingdom	1st
	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	1st	Marathon	2:25:29
	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	1st	Marathon	2:28:08
	New York City Marathon	New York City, USA	1st	Marathon	2:27:00
1984	World Cross Country Championships	New York, United States	3rd
	Olympic Games	Los Angeles, USA	2nd	Marathon	2:26:18
	New York City Marathon	New York City, USA	1st	Marathon	2:29:30
1985	New York City Marathon	New York City, USA	1st	Marathon	2:28:34
1986	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	1st	Marathon	2:24:54
	New York City Marathon	New York City, USA	1st	Marathon	2:28:06
1988	Stockholm Marathon	Stockholm, Sweden	1st	Marathon	2:28:24
	Olympic Games	Seoul, South Korea	--	Marathon	DNF
	New York City Marathon	New York City, USA	1st	Marathon	2:28:07
1990	New York City Marathon	New York, United States	4th	Marathon	2:34:34

References

1. Robbins, Liz; Weber, Bruce (April 19, 2011), "Grete Waitz, Marathon Champion, Dies at 57", The New York Times
2. "Grete Waits reflects". Daily News. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
3. IAFF athletes http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/biographies/letter=w/athcode=63544/index.html
4. JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge website
5. http://www.lawzone.com/half-nor/waitz.htm
6. Kristiansen, Wanda (16 August 2009). "Kreftstiftelse kan tjene milliarder med Grete Waitz". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 16 August 2009.
7. Langset, Kristine Grue; Torgersen, Hans O.; Dragland, Lene Li (19 April 2011). "Grete Waitz er død" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
8. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110419/ap_on_sp_ot/ath_obit_waitz
9. "Grete Waitz får begravelse på statens regning" (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. 21 April 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
10. Berglund, Nina (21 April 2011). "Grete Waitz to receive state funeral". Views and News from Norway. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
11. "King's honours to Grete Waitz". Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation/Aftenposten. The Norway Post. 23 November 2008. Retrieved 23 November 2008.

Audio interview

• TheFinalSprint.com's interview with running pioneer Grete Waitz

External links

• Biography of Grete Waitz
• Grete Waitz reflects on her, & Fred Lebow's, last NYC Marathon
• Google Doodle tribute to Grete Waitz