Silvia Ruegger, former Gryphon cross country runner and Olympian, died of cancer at the age of 58 on Friday (Aug. 23). 

The University of Guelph alumna was an important figure in the history of Canadian running. She won the first-ever U SPORTS cross country title in 1980 and finished eighth at the 1984 Olympics in the marathon event, while still a UofG student. The 1984 Olympic marathon took place at a time when women's distance running was just starting to be accepted on the world stage. It made its Olympic debut at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.

"Silvia's incredible work ethic and kind soul had an enormous impact here at Guelph and will for generations to come. She started our culture of running here at Guelph," said cross country head coach Dave Scott-Thomas.

On the national stage her finish at the 1984 Olympics began a legitimate era of endurance sport in Canada. It was also a really big deal here on our campus, it brought a degree of legitimacy and confidence to our program."

Ruegger was inducted into the Gryphon Sports Hall of Fame in 1987. She held the Canadian marathon record for an impressive 28 years before it was broken by Lanni Marchant in 2013.  

After completing her running career Ruegger was instrumental in launching the Run and Read program, which is now called Start to Finish. The program uses running as a vehicle to encourage reading in under privileged youth. The program has expanded to groups across the country.  

Her Gryphon HOF bio can be found here.