October 1, 1953 – April 19, 2011
Grete Waitz, one of the greatest distance runners of all time, died on Tuesday, April 19, after a long battle with cancer. She was 57.
A four-time Olympian and the 1983 marathon World Champion, Waitz won 12 World Marathon Majors races—the most of any runner in history. She was one of the few runners to master all three of the sport's disciplines: Besides setting four world records at the marathon and one at the half-marathon, she won five IAAF World Cross Country Championships, ran in two Olympics on the track, and set a world track record at 3000 meters.
Her accomplishments as an athlete were matched by her generosity, grace, and sincerity. The running world will not be the same without her.
[Statements from Mary Wittenberg and the Rudin Family] |
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Grete Waitz and former NYRR president Fred Lebow formed a lifelong friendship after Lebow convinced her to run the 1978 New York City Marathon, in which she broke the world record in her debut at the distance. Here she stands with the Central Park statue of Lebow, with whom she shares a bouquet.
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Waitz leads the 1979 New York City Marathon, which she would win with her second consecutive world-record performance. Accomplished male marathoners often ran near her, hoping that her dependably steady pace would pull them to fast times.
Photo courtesy of Duomo/PCN
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Waitz was a five-time winner of the NYRR New York Mini 10K. Her 1980 winning time of 31:00 is still the fifth-fastest time in the event's 39-year history. Here she leads the 1981 race.
Photo courtesy of Duomo/PCN
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An unpressed victory in the 1981 Mini. Waitz ran with a rare concentration, never showing strain even in the late stages of world-record efforts.
Photo courtesy of Duomo/PCN
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Waitz wins the 1983 New York City Marathon—her fifth of an amazing nine victories in the race. She also won the London Marathon twice, which, along with her 1983 World Championships victory, gave her a total of 12 World Marathon Majors titles—four more than any other runner in history, male or female.
Photo courtesy of Duomo/PCN
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Fred Lebow embraces Waitz after her ninth and final New York City Marathon victory, in 1988. The two would stay close after Waitz's retirement from competition, and Waitz would remain closely involved with New York Road Runners for the rest of her life.
Photo courtesy of Duomo/PCN
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When Lebow, in remission from brain cancer, decided in 1992 to run his own marathon for the first time, he asked Grete Waitz to run the race with him. After a journey of more than five and a half hours, the friends crossed the finish line together. Lebow died less than two years later.
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In 1995, to honor New York City's greatest marathoner, NYRR inaugurated the Grete's Great Gallop half-marathon. The race has been run every year since, and an accompanying Norway Run, Troll Stroll for kids, and Norwegian Festival celebrate the culture of Waitz's homeland.
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In 1998, Waitz became the first chairperson of the NYRR Foundation, which developed and instituted the youth programs that now serve more than 100,000 children in all 50 states and around the world. A favorite with children everywhere, Waitz frequently spoke at events, coached, and ran with kids in New York City.
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Waitz was perhaps the first Olympic-caliber female track athlete to race a marathon, and her success revolutionized the way that women approached the event and helped to legitimize women's marathoning. Countless world-class track runners have followed her example, including current marathon world record-holder Paula Radcliffe. Here Waitz embraces Radcliffe, who has just won her third ING New York City Marathon, in 2008.
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