Grete Waitz, pioneer of women's distance running, has died, IAAF tribute, note by Larry Eder

Joan Benoit Samuelson, Grete Waitz, ING NY 2005, photo by PhotoRun.net

Grete Waitz, one of the great women pioneers of marathoning, and one of the greatest women distance runners of all times, died today, April 19, after a long battle with cancer. She was 57. Grete was a champion of women’s sports and a model for living a life with dignity and meaning. Please keep her, her husband Jack, and her family and friends in your thoughts and prayers. An IAAF tribute is below:

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PRESS RELEASE

19 April 2011

Grete Waitz, distance running legend, passes away

Monaco
– The IAAF is deeply saddened by the news that Grete Waitz, a legendary
pioneer in women’s Marathon running, passed away today after fighting
a long battle with cancer.

Waitz,
who took the gold medal in the Marathon at the inaugural IAAF World
Championships in Helsinki in 1983 and the Olympic silver medal over the
distance
in Los Angeles in 1984, was 57.

A
sporting legend in her native Norway, Waitz was perhaps best known for
her streak of four World bests in the Marathon from 1978 to 1983, her
five victories
at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, and for her record nine
victories at the New York City Marathon.

“One
of the brightest flames of the modern athletics era has been
extinguished but the heroic deeds of Grete Waitz will live on
eternally,” commented
IAAF President Lamine Diack. “The dedication, perseverance and
fortitude with which Grete carved out her athletics career on the track,
across the country and on the road is an example to us all, as is the
positive way she tackled the illness that beset her
life in recent years. On behalf of the international athletics family I
wish to express our heartfelt sorrow at the passing of such a great
champion, and offer our sincerest sympathies and condolences to her
family and friends.”

Click here to read a full obituary on the IAAF website:

http://www.iaaf.org/news/kind=100/newsid=59808.html

Author

Larry Eder
Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."
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