Grete Waitz

Grete Waitz (1 October 1953 – 19 April 2011) was a Norwegian marathon runner and former world record holder. Waitz won nine New York City Marathons between 1978 and 1988, more than any other runner in history. She won a silver medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. She won a gold medal at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki.
Waitz also won the London Marathon in 1983 and 1986. The win in 1986 was her personal best time of 2:24:54. She won the Stockholm Marathon in 1988 at 2:28:24. (As of 2011 this is the Stockholm course record for women).
In 2000, Waitz was inducted into the United States National Distance Running Hall of Fame. She died from cancer in 2011.