Gabriele Grunewald, Champion Runner And Former Gopher, Dies After Decade-Long Battle With Cancer

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Professional runner and former Gopher Gabriele Grunewald died Tuesday night after a decade-long battle with a rare cancer.

Grunewald's husband, Justin, announced his wife's death on Instagram, saying: "I can't wait until I get to see you again…my hero, my best friend, my inspiration, my wife."

In 2009, Gabriele Grunewald was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, The Star Tribune reports. The day after she got the devastating news, she ran a track meet with the Gophers.

"It was important to me to run," she told the newspaper. "It's important to do what you love when you have the opportunity to do it."

Despite the cancer and surgeries and radiation therapy, Grunewald didn't stop running or competing.

She placed fourth in the 2012 USA Olympic Trials, and won a USA Championship title in the indoor 3000-meter race.

She had sought to compete in the 2020 Games in Tokyo.

"Being brave, for me, means not giving up on the things that make me feel alive," Grunewald wrote on the website of her nonprofit, Brave Like Gabe, which raises money for research for rare cancers.

On Wednesday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who was friends with Grunewald, proclaimed June 12, 2019 to be "Gabe Grunewald Day" in Minneapolis. Part of his statement read, "Through her passion, advocacy, and bravery, Gabe inspired hope in thousands of athletes, patients living with cancer, cancer survivors, and families."

Grunewald was born and raised in Perham, Minnesota. She died Tuesday night at her apartment in Minneapolis. She was 32.