Kim Gallagher

Did curiousity kill the cat? Sheesh, show some respect.

Kim Gallagher has always been my favorite american female distance runner. I remember her from way back. Alot of younger runners won't remember her because they were still in diapers.

Kim Gallagher and Mark Decker were the girls during those days in high school.

I will keep her family and close ones in prayer.

She still has US high school records which have not been broken!

I would love to see if these records stand for another 10 years or so and see if she is recognized as Jim Ryun was when Alan Webb (fellow Virginian) broke his HS mile record.

Remember she went on to medal twice in two oly. games. How many American Women much less American Men as Middle Distance/Distance runners have a Silver & Bronze at the Greatest Running Show on Earth: The Games. We are not talking about (NCAAs, US National Championships, Road Races, Regional Meets, etc, or even the World Championships, we are talking about the Games!)

Along with Mary Decker Slaney L. Jennings she was among our (US) greatest female middle/distance runners ever. She could have torn up the distance races if she would have ran the longer distances.

PS. The guy named "curious" once again proves that this great forum site seems to attract alot of "knuckle heads, bigots, racist, people with no class, etc who make BAD postings even in the death of not just an ALLTIME GREAT but THE DEATH OF AN PERSON.

But this is still the BEST RUNNING FORUM/INFO site out there!

Props to the Bros for having this site online and for your coverage about Kim Gallagher.

To @oldguy

Great repost. You showed alot of class by apologizing with your repost.

I like that.

I attend Upper Dublin High School which is the same school that Kim Gallagher attended. Few of us have even heard of her at our school. One may wonder how this is possible, especially at a small school like Upper Dublin, who's only AAA state championship in the past 50 years has been for girl's track when Kim was on the team. Furthermore, there is not one picture,plaque, or anything else for that matter with her name on it at my school.Her name does not even appear once in the track records case! I think that this is just an absolute disgrace. I mean our school had an athelete that still holds 2 national high school records for girls track and was an olympian, and we have absolutely nothing to prove of it. Anyway, this just really bothers me, and I'm wondering if you think something should be done at my school to honor this amazing athelete?

I first remember Kim when she won the Penn HS cross country championships. I was a Junior at Penn State. I thought there is the next Mary Decker, she had so much talent!! I later got to know her when she would come to Eugene. She was a sweet down to earth person who would laugh a lot (atleast around us). She was always plagued with injuries but had she not, I am convinced she would be holding every American record from the 800 to 5,000. She like Mary, was one of those rare athletes that come along once in a great while. I am convinced she never took drugs, you could tell by looking at her, she was thin and light on her feet.

I have wondered the past 6 or 7 years what was going on with her; I knew she had been battling cancer. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends!!

I doubt she used drugs, despite the Debus connection. She never got that stringy wiry looking skin when at her best that some of the best got after they were on the "juice." Also, Kim Gallagher ran a 4:49 mile in 9th grade-2:00 half in 12th grade, 4:16 1500 in 12th grade-she was the very best from early on. Her personal bests were not that much better to suggest that she was enhanced.

I hope you Upper Dublin alums can do something about this. You are right, that is a disgrace!

Start a letter campaign or something. Sounds like you would get some from this message board.

I'm actually not an alumni. I'm a 16 year old junior that runs all year around for Upper Dublin. I really don't know what to do about this but I just feel that she should be remembered,especially at my school. Should anything be done?

true, one would never confuse kim gallagher with the 2000 OT version of regina...

anyone else find it odd that some of the best US track and field athletes from the 1980s have had severe health problems...scott with testicular cancer...flo jo with av malformation and h/o sz...gallagher as mentioned above, unfortunately, there is a link with anabolics and cancer of the gastrointestinal system (and teasticular cancer in men)...ben plunknett, etc

Good points, Alan ... certainly not long-term use, anyway.

Let's help "MF" write a letter to his athletic director, principal, superintendant, or school board. This athlete should be recognized in some way.

I suggest a letter, signed by members of the team, past and present, stating that recognition is deserved.

doc... wrote:

anyone else find it odd that some of the best US track and field athletes from the 1980s have had severe health problems...scott with testicular cancer...flo jo with av malformation and h/o sz...gallagher as mentioned above, unfortunately, there is a link with anabolics and cancer of the gastrointestinal system (and teasticular cancer in men)...ben plunknett, etc

So, the 5,600 American men between that ages of 15 and 40 who contract testicular cancer every year are all on anabolic steroids?

just as smoking increases the incidence of lung, throat, bladder and other cancers, anabolics increase GI and testicular cancer risks.

apparently you do not understand the word 'link' nor does your extrapolation from my post make sense.

common sense is not so common.

i think something should be done at your school to honor her.

I will check into it.

My point is that testicular cancer is not uncommon among men, ages 15 to 40. There are 5,600 American men who come down with testicular cancer every year. One of those 5,600 American men happened to be an Olympian.

Just because Steve developed testicular cancer, in no way implicated his with the use of anabolics.

As mentioned above, it's not an uncommon form of cancer for men his age. It's not like it's something to be shocked about. Men his age get it. Just because he's an athlete doesn't make him any different than the other 5,599 American men who get the same thing every year. Are they possible anabolic users too?

That's my point. I apologize; I thought it was obvious.

Remember that Gallagher had a very dominating older brother that coached her for many years. He never left her out of his sight, and it was a surprise that he left her go to college (didn't last long). He got all kinds of assurances from Debus that she would not have to use drugs if he coached her. It was a very strange coach-athlete, brother-sister relationship.

If anyone wanted to look into further what went on, look into what happened to her dominating brother...

I'll bite. What happened to her brother?

He died at age 37 - what happened?