Kim Gallagher was one of only two U.S. women to win Olympic medals in the middle distances, track races of 800 to 5,000 meters.
Her former coach, Chuck DeBus, marvels at what Gallagher might have done if she had been healthy.
“I think she was the most gifted middle-distance runner ever,” DeBus said Wednesday.
Gallagher, 38, mother of a 13-year-old daughter, died Monday at a suburban Philadelphia hospital of complications related to her seven-year battle with stomach cancer.
During the five-year period in which she won Olympic silver (1984) and bronze (1988) medals in the 800, Gallagher suffered from anemia, ovarian cysts and chronic fatigue syndrome.
“In those five years she trained with me, there was hardly a week when she could train more than 20 miles,” DeBus said. “There was always something wrong.”
“For her to have done what she did on 20 miles a week, she had to be a genetic freak–in the best sense of the word.”
Gallagher’s association with DeBus took on an unsettling dimension in 1990, when USA Track & Field suspended him for life for allegedly providing performance-enhancing drugs to his athletes. She denied ever using drugs.
Gallagher began training with DeBus a year after leaving Upper Darby (Pa.) High School, where in 1982 she ran the 800 in 2 minutes 00.07 seconds, still the U.S. junior record. She also holds the U.S. high school record at 1,500.
