adidas Grete Waitz

  • MODEL: ADIDAS GRETE WAITZ
  • MADE IN: VIETNAM
  • MADE ON: --/06
  • ART.NO: 807336

Grete Waitz’ greatest accomplishment was not her 1500 meter sprint in Prague, nor her 3000 meter dash in Oslo. It wasn’t her one mile run in Gateshead, nor her 15 kilometer courage in Tampa, or even her massive marathon in London. In our eyes, the best achievement that Waitz won was her avid promotion of marathon and long-distance running for women worldwide. Such attitude, spirit, and legacy are only the kind that can be left behind by an athlete with determination, conviction, and true originality.

And in the very same spirit Adi Dassler supported and promoted athletes with his art of finely crafted footwear, bringing a bright, royal blue suede upper to this silhouette solely dedicated to the triumphs of Waitz. Designed to inspire women, it’s possible that the upper – which wraps around the lower heel and bends around the side of the fore foot and toe box – was formed into a flower shape as a subtle symbol of the delicacy in sportsmanship; the careful cross between competitive nature and honorable pride. The rest of the upper is made of two different grades of synthetic white mesh, topped with white suede strips for the eyelets. The blue and white colorway is made fully Norwegian (matching the colors of their country’s flag) by the loud, red, leather side stripes and heel patch, bearing the trefoil embossed into an oval. This sneaker screams pride, through and through.

Grete’s face and endorsement appears in blue print on the thin, soft white tongue, proudly displaying her signature underneath the white laces. The midsole continues the colorway, constructed out of white and blue strips of dense foam. The outsole itself is a mixture of well tractioned blue, black, and red rubber, climbing up the front to partially cover the toe box, with an adidas trefoil and name branding formed within a hexagon in the center.

written by Dylan Cromwell

photography by errol

shoes contributed by Chris SoleconneXion Leal

  • Anonymous

    “The blue and white colorway is made fully American by”… Typical Americans, always believing everything is about them. My guess would be that the colours are those of the Norwegian flag, as Waitz was from there and had absolutely nothing to do with ‘Merica.

  • Dylan Cromwell

    I wrote this article and while it’s true I am American, I certainly did not mean to relate the shoe to myself. It was an honest mistake actually, not being immediately familiar with the Norwegian flag. My goal is always to best represent the history and story of a pair, and in this context I really appreciate your informative (yet possible overly smug) comment. ;)

    Cheers for contributing and please keep up the constructive criticism. I hope my obvious Americanisms don’t turn you off from the main essence of our adidas and PUMA archives!