 She came close to the podium at the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships, finishing fourth, and took part in her first Olympics at the 2004 Athens Games, where she was 16th in the final rankings with a national record of 6108 points.She again just fell short of the podium with a fourth place at the 2005 European Athletics Indoor Championships and was eighth outdoors at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics later that season.The 2006 season was a breakthrough for Ruckstuhl – she won silver medals at the 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships and the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg.