Grete Waitz

Grete Waitz (born October 1, 1953) is a former Norwegian marathon runner who won nine New York City Marathons between 1978 and 1988, more than any other runner in history. She also won a silver medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and a gold medal at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki, Finland.

Background

Born Grete Andersen in Oslo, Norway, Waitz was a talented youngster in athletics, but had difficulty in getting her parents to take her potential profession seriously. This was a time when female athletes were not given the necessary support and funding needed to compete at the top level. However, Waitz did run 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 meters. At age 17 she set the European junior record for 1,500 meters with a time of 4:17, winning 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 8:31.75. Her final track race was a victory at 5,000 meters in Oslo in June of 1982 where her 15:08.80 was the 2nd best in history, falling only half a second short of the women's world record set three weeks earlier by Mary Slaney.

It was in 1978 that her association with the New York Marathon began; she was invited to run there by race co-founder and director Fred Lebow and in her first marathon effort not only won but took a full two minutes off of 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 an astonishing nine minutes, taking the standard from Christa Vahlensieck's 2:34:47 down to 2:32:30 (1978), 2:27:33 (1979), 2:25:41 (1980), and finally to the 2:25:29 that Waitz ran at London in 1983. Besides her victories in New York, Waitz also won the London Marathon in 1983 and 1986 (the latter in a personal best of 2:24:54).

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 10K Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, five wins at the L'eggs Mini-Marathon in New York, and world road records at 8K (25:03), twice in the 10K (31:16 in 1979, then later to 30:59), 15K (48:01) and 10 mile distances. Waitz further demonstrated her versatility by successfully competing in cross country, winning the IAAF World Cross Country Championships 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 garner in her storied career was an Olympic victory. As an up and coming 19 year old in Munich and then a 23 year old running the 1,500 meters 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 by Joan Benoit and placed second to win the silver medal in the marathon. 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 did win a gold medal and attained the title of world champion, however, when she won the marathon at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki.

After Retirement

Although not competing at the top level, Waitz still runs in and organises corporate races in which she aims to give advice and information on distance running and health. She also does 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. Also coached Liz McColgan. For more than 25 years, Waitz has served as the ambassador for the worldwide JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Series, promoting health and wellness to full-time workers. She provides regular training and motivational tips at [http://www.jpmorganchasecc.com/] .

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 Runner's Club annually sponsors "Grete's Great Gallop", a half-marathon, in her honor.

There is also a statue of her outside the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, and she has been featured on a set of stamps.

Audio interview

* [http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2007/04/podcast-35-interview-with-running-pioneer-grete-waitz/ TheFinalSprint.com's interview with running pioneer Grete Waitz]

External links

* [http://www.answers.com/topic/grete-waitz/ Biography of Grete Waitz]