Olympian and Calgary Marathon founder Douglas Kyle remembered following crash
Douglas Kyle, a two-time Olympian and founder of the Calgary Marathon and Calgary Track and Field club, has died at age 91.
Kyle's family confirmed to CTV News that he was involved in a single-vehicle rollover in the city's southeast on Sunday night.
Police say a blue 2017 Chevrolet Spark veered off the road at the intersection of 114 Avenue S.E. and 84 Street S.E.
Investigators say the car was travelling east on 114 Avenue toward 84 Street, where it approached a T-intersection and subsequently veered off the road.
Kyle was transported to hospital with what paramedics say were serious injuries, but in non-life-threatening condition.
Kyle later died in hospital.
"At this time, police continue to investigate the circumstances that led to the man's death," police said in a release issued Monday.
"Drugs or alcohol are not considered to be factors in this collision."
Doug Kyle represented Canada at the 1956 Olympic Games in Australia and again in 1960 in Rome as a track-and-field athlete for the 5,000m and 10,000m races.
Kyle's son Robert says the news of his father's death is still very raw.
"We love him and we miss him," Robert said.
"We raced down and we made it down to the Foothills hospital as quick as we were able to and with the whole family. By the time we had arrived, he had already passed."
Robert's son James says he will miss his grandfather and his desire to make Calgary a better city for all.
"He was dedicated to the craft and he was dedicated to the city and he was involved in so many different organizations that we're still finding out to this day," James said.
Son Robert and grandson James used to do the CALTAF Father's Day run with Doug Kyle every year.
James says he will miss the opportunities to compete in running events with Kyle, now that he's gone.
"We used to do the CALTAF Father's Day run, and the three of us every single year went out and jogged the whole way down," he said.
"The highlight of that was last year. We actually got lucky and won the run for the gold for the CALTAF," Robert said.
"That had taken 30 years of my dad and I running and my son joining us."
Kyle represented Canada at the 1956 Olympic Games in Australia and again in 1960 in Rome as a track-and-field athlete for the 5,000m and 10,000m races.
In 1963, he founded the Calgary Marathon.
He competed in the race and came in first place.
Run Calgary still has Doug Kyle's running shoes from the first Calgary Marathon, along with his gold medal.
Jon Bird, interim executive director with Run Calgary and the host of the marathon, says the loss of Kyle leaves a major hole in the running community.
"Nineteen people started that race in 1963 and now we have over 10,000 people raising over a million dollars each year to charities, so his impact is pretty profound," Bird said.
"What Doug has done is leave us a legacy for how to be involved in the community and how to be a leader within the community and how to shape a community."
Bird says Run Calgary still has Kyle's running shoes from that first race, along with his gold medal.
Calgary police are asking anyone who witnessed the collision or has dash-cam footage to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
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