Gabe Grunewald dies, the athlete who ran against cancer
The midfielder came to compete in a World Cup despite the fact that throughout his career he was diagnosed with four tumors
"At the 7: 52 I said: 'I can not wait to see you again. To my hero, to my best friend, to my inspiration, to my wife"Justin Grunewald, Gabe's husband, who could no longer fight the cancer that had accompanied him since 2009, posted on his Instagram account. "I always felt like I was Robin from Batman and I know I can never fill this huge hole in my heart or fill the shoes you leave here“Added the athlete's husband, confirming her death.
Adenoid cystic carcinoma in the salivary glands. A rare cancer with a high percentage of survival and, at the same time, high risk of recurrence. That was the diagnosis that you heard Gabe Grunewald, then one more mediofondista in the University of Minnesota, the 10 of April of 2009. The next day he beat his best mark in the 1.500 meters.
Grunewald's career began like this and continued until his last breath. The athlete's life went off on Tuesday leaving an example for anyone affected by the disease. Grunewald was not the first athlete to fight cancer, but it was the first that was done while fighting cancer.
Grunewald was diagnosed with tumors up to four times and, despite this, she became one of the best runners in the NCAA (second in Division I), was an American international and even came to compete in a World Cup, Sopot's indoor in 2014 , where he finished ninth.
"When I was diagnosed with cancer for the first time, I tried to prioritize the life things that I liked and, therefore, I wanted to focus on being as good a athlete as I could.“, declared Grunewald that year, in which the Madrid meeting also took place. “Before cancer I was a more or less decent university runner, but I was very far from the professional level I am now", he added.
Grunewald discovered himself a few months after one of his worst moments. After the cancer in the salivary glands that they detected in 2009, her first relapse came, a papillary thyroid cancer in 2011, and shortly after her first 'Trials' to try to be an Olympian. He had already shown his aptitude in the university league, but after what he suffered with the two almost consecutive treatments, no one expected him to get a place for the 2012 London Olympics. He fell short.
His history and his fourth place in the Trials - where three were classified - made it known and, in the later time, he lived his best years. In 2013 it beat its marks (it has 4: 01.48 in 1.500 meters) and the following year was champion of the United States and mundialista. The Rio 2016 Olympic Games were wide open, but failed in the Trials and soon after the disease reappeared.
A cancerous tumor in the liver forced him to undergo surgery and months later he had to start a new treatment for another metastasis in the same area. Thus began his fourth race against cancer that would be the last. After 10 years, and having become a professional athlete along the way, Grunewald's life went out leaving an example in her, as confirmed by her husband, Justin.
Source: the world is
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