Gabriele Grunewald

Gabriele Ivy Grunewald[1][2] (née Anderson; June 25, 1986 – June 11, 2019) was an American professional middle-distance runner who competed in distances from 800 meters to 5000 meters. She represented the United States at the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships and finished in ninth place in the 3000 meters. Grunewald was the national champion in the 3000 meters at the 2014 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Gabriele Grunewald
Grunewald in 2016
Personal information
Birth nameGabriele Ivy Anderson
Born(1986-06-25)June 25, 1986
Perham, Minnesota, U.S.
DiedJune 11, 2019(2019-06-11) (aged 32)
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportAthletics
Event(s)800 m, 1500 m, Mile run,
3000 m, 5000 m
College teamUniversity of Minnesota Golden Gophers
ClubBrooks
Turned pro2010
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)800 m: 2:01.38
1500 m: 4:01.48
Mile: 4:27.94
3000 m: 8:42.64
5000 m: 15:19.01

Early life

Grunewald was born in Perham, Minnesota to Kim and Laura Anderson. She competed for the University of Minnesota where she was national runner-up in the 1500 meters at the 2010 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.[3]

Professional career

Grunewald turned professional in 2010, signing a contract with Brooks Sports. In 2011, she placed third nationally in the mile run both indoors[4] and outdoors.

Over 1500 m, she was fourth at the 2012 United States Olympic Trials missing the Olympic Team by one place.

Grunewald placed 11th in the 1500 m final at 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.[5]

Grunewald was the 2014 USA Indoor 3000 m champion. She was briefly disqualified on appeal from Jordan Hasay’s coach Alberto Salazar that was based on contact Grunewald had with Hasay during the finals; however, Hasay later withdrew the appeal made on her behalf and Grunewald was reinstated as champion and awarded her World Championships berth.[6] She would finish 9th at the World Championships.

Grunewald placed 13th in 1500 m final at 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.[7]

Grunewald placed 3rd at 2016 USATF 1 Mile Road Championships[8] and 12th in 1500 m final at 2016 United States Olympic Trials (track and field).[9]

In what would be her final professional race, Grunewald ran 4:31.18 and placed 28th in 1500 m semi-final at 2017 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 100-degree heat, in between chemotherapy treatments, and having had a fever just days before the race.[10]

Personal life

In 2013, Gabriele married Justin Grunewald, an internal medicine physician whom she first met while they were both students at the University of Minnesota. In 2017, Brooks released Gabe (her nickname), a 26-minute documentary film depicting her battle with cancer as well as her efforts to qualify for the 2017 World Championships.[11] Grunewald had four siblings: three brothers (Ben, Caleb, and Zach) and a sister (Abigail);[12][13] her sister was killed in a drunk-driving crash in August 2021, on her way to attending a women's soccer game in Falcon Heights, Minnesota.[14]

Illness and death

Grunewald was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare type of cancer, in 2009.[15] Due to tumors, her salivary gland was removed in 2009 and her thyroid was removed two years later.[16] She had surgery to remove a roughly five-by-six-inch cancerous tumor from her liver on August 26, 2016; a surgical oncologist performed a right hepatectomy to remove the tumor as well as the affected right lobe of her liver.[17] In 2017, Grunewald suffered a relapse, with a PET scan revealing 12 small, inoperable tumors in her liver. In 2018, she founded the organization Brave Like Gabe to fund research and raise awareness surrounding rare cancers through local races.[18]

Grunewald died in palliative care on June 11, 2019, two weeks before her 33rd birthday.[19]

Personal bests
Outdoor track
DistanceTimePlaceDate
800 meters2:01.38Eugene, ORMay 31, 2013
1500 meters4:01.48MonacoJuly 19, 2013
One mile4:27.9Falmouth, MAAugust 11, 2012
3000 meters8:42.64London (OP)July 26, 2013
5000 meters15:19.01Palo Alto, CAApril 4, 2015
Indoor track
DistanceTimePlaceDate
1500 meters4:12.8Glasgow (Emirates Arena)January 25, 2014
One mile4:36.6Albuquerque, NMFebruary 27, 2011
3000 meters8:53.9New York (Armory), NYFebruary 15, 2014
Two miles9:55.2Boston (Roxbury), MAFebruary 8, 2014
Road races
DistanceTimePlaceDate
One mile4:21.3Duluth, Minnesota
Minnesota Mile[20]		September 9, 2013

See also

References
  1. "Memorial services for runner who died of rare cancer to include tribute run". June 14, 2019.
  2. "Login • Instagram". Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  3. GABRIELE ANDERSON SECOND IN NCAA 1,500 METERS Archived March 5, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. gophersports.com. Retrieved on June 12, 2010.
  4. 2011 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships Women's 1 Mile Run - Final 2011 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships presented by BMW. Retrieved by February 26–27, 2011. Albuquerque Convention Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
  5. 2013 USA Track & Field Championships Results - 6/19/2013 to 6/23/2013 Drake Stadium - Des Moines, Iowa Archived October 13, 2016, at the Wayback Machine USATF. Retrieved by August 26, 2016.
  6. Grunewald reinstated as 2014 USA indoor women’s 3,000m champion Archived May 4, 2015, at the Wayback Machine 2014 US Indoor championships. Retrieved by February 24, 2014.
  7. USATF Championships Results - 6/25/2015 to 6/28/2015 Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon Archived May 28, 2019, at the Wayback Machine USATF. Retrieved by August 26, 2016.
  8. 2016 USATF 1 Mile Road Championships hosted by the Medtronic TC 1 Mile USATF. Retrieved by August 26, 2016.
  9. 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Results - Track & Field - 6/30/2016 to 7/10/2016 Eugene, Oregon USATF. Retrieved by August 26, 2016.
  10. 2017 USATF Championships Results - 6/22/2017 to 6/25/2017 Hornet Stadium, Sacramento, California Archived October 12, 2017, at the Wayback Machine USATF. Retrieved by October 31, 2018.
  11. "The 'GABE' Documentary". brooksrunning. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  12. "Gabriele Grunewald fights rare cancer, continues running". Sports Illustrated. September 27, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  13. "Two Months After Losing Gabe, Justin Grunewald Is Living Her Message of Hope". Runner's World. August 29, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  14. "Abigail Anderson, Sister of the Late Gabe Grunewald, Was Hit by a Driver and Killed". Runner's World. August 19, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  15. Graham, Pat (May 21, 2017). "Runner Gabriele Grunewald delays chemo for a few more races". The Washington Times. Associated Press. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  16. Dennehy, Cathal (May 8, 2017). "Amid Cancer News, U.S. Champion Chooses to Keep Racing". Runner's World. Rodale, Inc. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  17. Top U.S. Runner Will Undergo Surgery Friday to Remove Cancerous Tumor At 30, Gabriele Grunewald hopes to become a three-time cancer survivor. runnersworld. Retrieved by August 25, 2016.
  18. Brave Like Gabe. Retrieved by June 13, 2019.
  19. Layden, Tim (June 11, 2019). "'Brave Like Gabe': Remembering the Runner Who Never Gave Up in the Face of an Unbeatable Opponent". Sports Illustrated.
  20. "Gabriele Anderson Wins Minnesota Mile in Course Record Time of 4:21; Heather Kampf Is Second in Duluth". LetsRun.com. September 9, 2013.
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