Grete Waitz.

Grete Waitz. Grete Waitz, born in 1953, Norwegian track-and-field athlete, the dominant female distance runner in the world from the late 1970s through the late 1980s. Her success has been instrumental in bringing women's distance running to an international audience. Born Grete Andersen in Oslo, Norway, Waitz began running at age 12. Until the late 1970s she competed only at the middle distances (800 meters, 1,500 meters, and 3,000 meters), and in 1975 and 1976 she set world records in the 3,000 meters. She competed in the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games but did not win a medal. In 1978 Waitz ran her first marathon, the New York City Marathon, and won, turning in a world-best time of 2 hours 32 minutes 30 seconds. The following year she won the event again, becoming the first woman to run a marathon under 2 hours 30 minutes with her time of 2 hours 27 minutes 33 seconds. She went on to win the New York City Marathon a record nine times (1978-1980, 1982-1986, 1988). Entering the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, California, Waitz was undefeated in seven previous marathons and had dominated the 1983 world championship marathon, winning by a margin of three minutes. American Joan Benoit Samuelson won the Olympic race, however, and Waitz took second for the silver medal. Waitz's other accomplishments include winning the London Marathon twice (1983 and 1986) and the world cross-country championship five times (1978-1981 and 1983). She founded the Grete Waitz Run in Oslo, Norway, now one of the largest all-women's races in the world. In 1982 she was awarded the St. Olav's Medal, the highest honor accorded a Norwegian citizen. Her book On the Run: Exercise and Fitness for Busy People was published in 1997. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.