U.S. gold medal Olympian Tori Bowie, who starred in track and field, died from complications while giving birth to a “well developed” baby, according to an autopsy report.
The Orange County, Florida, Medical Examiner’s Office said that 32-year-old Bowie was eight months pregnant and in labor when she died, USA Today reported. Officials noted that Bowie possibly had respiratory distress and eclampsia during her pregnancy. Eclampsia is when a woman develops seizures during pregnancy and usually occurs after the 20th week, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The medical examiner ruled Bowie’s death natural.
Sheriff deputies in Orange County conducted a welfare check on Bowie after receiving reports that she “had not been seen or heard from in several days.” They found Bowie dead in her home in Winter Garden, Florida, on May 2. Her pregnancy was confirmed during her funeral service. A program at the funeral said Bowie was preceded in death by her daughter Ariana, according to The New York Times.
Bowie excelled at track and field at the international level in the long jump, 100m, and 200m. In the 2016 Rio Olympics, Bowie won the silver medal in the 100-meter event and bronze in the 200m. She also won a gold medal as a part of the U.S. women’s 4x100m relays during the 2016 Olympics. The track star went on to win gold at the 2017 World Athletics Championships in the 100m and 4x100m.
Bowie was raised in Mississippi by her grandmother after she was abandoned at a foster home. She began competing in track and field as a teenager before becoming a star athlete at the University of Southern Mississippi, then made her way onto the U.S. Olympic team.
“We join our friends at USA Track & Field and across the Olympic community in mourning the passing of 3x Olympic medalist Tori Bowie,” Team USA wrote on Twitter. “She was an admired friend, teammate, and a great representative of Team USA. We send our sincere condolences to all who know and loved her.”
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We join our friends at USA Track & Field and across the Olympic community in mourning the passing of 3x Olympic medalist Tori Bowie.
She was an admired friend, teammate, and a great representative of Team USA. We send our sincere condolences to all who know and loved her. pic.twitter.com/rbZ2JTYeQy
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) May 3, 2023