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Grete Waitz
Grete Waitz won the New York City Marathon a record nine times between 1978 and 1988, establishing one of the most dominant individual records at any single major marathon in the sport's history, and her first NYC Marathon victory came in her very first attempt at the distance. Her sustained dominance helped significantly popularize women's marathon running during a period when the event was still relatively new to women's competitive athletics, having only been added to major marathons' women's fields in the preceding years. Waitz also won the marathon at the first-ever IAAF World Championships in 1983 and an Olympic silver medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, the first Olympics to include a women's marathon, giving her a significant role in the event's early Olympic history. Her record nine New York City Marathon victories and her broader role helping establish women's marathon running as a legitimate elite competitive discipline have made Waitz one of the most historically significant figures in the sport's development.
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Abebe Bikila
Abebe Bikila won the marathon at the 1960 Rome Olympics running entirely barefoot, having been unable to find running shoes that fit comfortably before the race, and his victory made him the first Black African athlete to win an Olympic gold medal, a historically significant breakthrough for African Olympic representation. His winning route passed directly beneath the Arch of Constantine, an ancient Roman monument, giving his historic barefoot victory a striking visual backdrop that became one of the most iconic images in Olympic marathon history. Bikila successfully defended his Olympic marathon title at the 1964 Tokyo Games, becoming the first runner in Olympic history to win the marathon twice, this time wearing shoes and remarkably competing just weeks after an appendectomy. His combination of a historic barefoot Olympic victory and his subsequent successful title defense has made Bikila one of the most historically significant marathon runners ever, and his breakthrough helped establish Ethiopia's now-sustained tradition of distance-running excellence.
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