Champion U.S. sprinter and three-time Olympic medal winner Tori Bowie died while undergoing childbirth, according to a medical examiner's report.
The Orange County Medical Examiner Office in Florida said Bowie was about eight months pregnant with a "well developed fetus," and said she was in labor when she died in May.
In the report, released to the media, Bowie is said to have suffered respiratory distress and seizures after a sudden spike in blood pressure during pregnancy, known as eclampsia.
She was found dead in her Winter Garden, Florida home on May 2 after police were called to conduct a welfare check.
3-time U.S. Olympic medalist Tori Bowie dead at 32
She won gold in the 4x100-meter relay in 2016. She also won individual bronze and silver medals at the 2016 Games.
Bowie was on the American team that won gold in 2016 in the 4x100-meter relay.
She also earned a silver medal in the 100-meter and a bronze in the 200-meter and two gold medals at the 2017 World Championships in London.
"We’ve lost a client, dear friend, daughter and sister. Tori was a champion…a beacon of light that shined so bright," her management said in a statement. "We’re truly heartbroken and our prayers are with the family, friends and everyone that loved her."
She last competed professionally in 2019 at the World Championships. She finished 22nd in the 100-meter and fourth in the long jump.
Prior to turning pro, she was an NCAA champion with the University of Southern Mississippi in both the indoor and outdoor long jump in 2011. Bowie was a first-team NCAA all-American in the long jump in 2011 and on the second team in the long jump and triple jump in 2022.
"USATF is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Tori Bowie," the USATF, track and field’s domestic organizing body, said in a statement. "Her impact on the sport is immeasurable, and she will be greatly missed."
