Tori Bowie, the sprinter who gained three Olympic medals on the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, has died. She was 32.
Bowie’s dying was introduced Wednesday by her administration firm and USA Track and Field. No reason behind dying was given.
“USATF is deeply saddened by the passing of Tori Bowie, a three-time Olympic medalist and two-time world champion,” USA Track and Field CEO Max Siegel said in a statement. “A talented athlete, her impact on the sport is immeasurable, and she will be greatly missed.”
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Orlando, Florida, deputies responded Tuesday afternoon to a home in the area “for a well-being check of a woman in her 30s who had not been seen or heard from in several days.”
The sheriff’s office wrote that a woman, “tentatively recognized as Frentorish “Tori” Bowie (DOB: 8/27/1990), was discovered useless within the dwelling. There had been no indicators of foul play.”
Growing up in Sandhill, Mississippi, Bowie was coaxed into observe as a young person and rapidly rose up the ranks as a sprinter and lengthy jumper. She attended Southern Mississippi, the place she swept the lengthy bounce NCAA championships on the indoor and out of doors occasions in 2011.
Bowie turned in an electrical efficiency on the 2016 Rio Olympics, the place she gained silver within the 100 and bronze within the 200. She then ran the anchor leg on a 4×100 group with Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix and English Gardner to take gold.
A 12 months later, she gained the 100 meters on the 2017 world championships in London. She additionally helped the 4×100 group to gold.
“She was a very enthusiastic, sparkling personality,” mentioned observe coach Craig Poole, who labored with Bowie early in her profession and once more later. “She was really fun to work with.”
The observe and discipline group mourned the lack of Bowie on social media. Jamaican dash sensation Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce posted on Twitter: “My heart breaks for the family of Tori Bowie. A great competitor and source of light. Your energy and smile will always be with me. Rest in peace.”
Added U.S. hurdler Lolo Jones: “Too younger. Gutted to listen to about Tori Bowie. Incredible expertise. A stupendous runner. I pray for the consolation of her household, thank your for blessing us together with her. The operating group mourns an unbelievable loss.”
Brittney Reese, a three-time Olympic medalist in the long jump, wrote: “I’m so heartbroken over this … You have made a lot of us proud thank you for representing our state of Mississippi like you did … RIP!”
Bowie was taken in by her grandmother as an infant after she was left at a foster home. She considered herself a basketball player and only reluctantly showed up for track, but Bowie was a fast learner, becoming a state champion in the 100, 200 and long jump before going to college.
Her first major international medal was a 100-meter bronze at worlds in 2015. After winning, she said, “my entire life my grandmother told me I could do whatever I set my mind to.”
In a post on Twitter, Icon Management included a picture of Bowie holding up her hands in the shape of a heart. The management company wrote: “We’ve lost a client, dear friend, daughter and sister. Tori was a champion…a beacon of light that shined so bright! We’re truly heartbroken and our prayers are with the family and friends.”
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AP National Writer Eddie Pells contributed to this report.
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