in the late 90's I cheered on some of female friends at the mini marathon. At the awards ceremony, Grete, a spectator, cheered on the winners like everyone else. Afterwards she walked slowly to her apartment by herself. i pointed to her and asked my friends if they knew who she was. They didn't and asked is she is a runner? I told them that's Grete the reason they are running today. She and Joanie are the reasons why so many women run.
This is so shocking, I had no idea she was ill. Great memories of watching her run the World XC back in the 80s. Condolences to her family.
So sad. Even though I'd known for years that she was sick it's still shocking. She always carried herself with a sense of dignity and quiet class, attributes I admire tremendously. All the best to her family and friends.
In 1993, a year after running a 5:32 with the dying Fred Lebow, Grete was determined to cheer perennial last-place finisher Zoe Koplowitz at the finish line. Zoe suffered from MS, so she took over 24 hours to finish. When Zoe finally crossed the line at 6:30AM, Grete learned that nobody had a medal for her, so Grete ran back to her hotel room to give her the medal that her husband had received the day before.
RIP Grete.
Grete is also my first runner of memory from my childhood years. The NYC Marathon and The Runner magazine would show her pushing and I would think, wow, I want to run like that, and one day I did because of her inspiration. Rest in peace Grete and my condolences to her family...
Thank you for all you did in running and in life.
The greatest athlete that ever came out of Norway.
The first lady to train like a man
You scared many men
Thank you for everything
This is so sad. Grete was a hero to me when I first took up running in 1979. I was in awe of she was able to dominate her competition. Grete Waitz will not only be remembered as an icon of our sport but a truly wonderful human being.
R.I.P. Grete, and give our best to Fred.
Very sad news, a running legend. Way too young to die. May her family gain peace. RIP Grete Waitz.
Sad day to hear about Grete's passing. She along with Bill Rodgers were my idols when I started running roadraces in high school in the late 70s. They have both given back to the sport far more than they could have ever taken.
Always sad when good, inspirational people die, my condolences for your family and friends and thank you for all you have given .
I remember the first time I met Grete was at the Gaspirrila (sp) road race...I was running along and at about 6 miles I started hearing feint cheering...at 7 it was a lot louder...I had no idea what people were cheering about...at 8 it was quite loud and I glanced over to my right and found out what all the cheering was about...Grete was coming through...
My strongest memory of Grete - when she whipped off the white cotton gloves around mile 22, you knew the race was over. Thanks Grete for the inspiration and memories.
RIP Grete, a true champion and pioneer in athletics and humanity
Tragic! Grete Waitz was a great athlete and pioneer in women distance running and the world and athletics loses a gutsy and heroic running icon.
One thing I didn't know about Grete was that she ran 1500m in 4:00.55 and 3000m in 8:31.75 in 1978 and 79 respectively before moving up to the marathon.
I'm heartbroken. Hvil i fred, Grete. >sniff<
I had a little crush on her.
Goodbye Grete.
Some lights are just so bright you can't imagine they could ever be extinguished. It's a sad sad day.
Amazing woman. RIP Grete!
Yes, very sad indeed. Never met her but did see her at the Boston Expo and read about her when I first started running and found her to be very inspiring. Just want to share this part...
This past Nov. was my first time running the NYC marathon and a week later, my husband surprised me with a birthday gift....it was a signed lithograph print by LeRoy Nieman of the 1983 NYC Marathon. At the time, my husband didn't know who the runners in the print were and when I looked at it and saw the lady raising her arms up and her time of 2:27, I knew it had to be someone I had heard of..and sure enough, it was Grete Waitz. The best gift ever and hope to pass it on to my daughter who has started running herself. Have tears just typing this...
The irony of this is that my husband has relatives in Olso, Norway.
Lorenzo the Magnificent wrote:
That's horrible. She almost single-handedly dragged women's marathoning into the 20th century. an icon.
The history of women's marathoning can be pretty cleanly divided by the moment that Grete Waitz crossed the finish line at the 1978 New York City Marathon for the first of her many victories there. It opened up a new era. I would guess that many of the younger runners on this site have no idea of how huge a figure she was -- and not only among runners. She was, as Kenny Moore put it, "a riveting symbol of uncompromised excellence."
I was stunned by this news.