Tori Bowie, the American sprinter who won three Olympic medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, has died. She was 32 years old.
Bowie’s management agency and the US Track and Field Federation announced the death on Wednesday. The cause was not disclosed.
“The USATF is saddened by the passing of Tori Bowie, a three-time Olympic medalist and two-time world champion,” USATF CEO Max Siegel said in a statement. “A talented athlete, her impact on the sport was immeasurable and she will be sorely missed.”
A native of Sandhill, Mississippi, Bowie dabbled in track and field as a teenager and quickly rose to prominence as a sprinter and long jumper. She studied at the University of Southern Mississippi, where she captured the long jump titles at both the indoor and outdoor national championships in 2011.
Bowie shone at Rio 2016, where he took silver in the 100m and bronze in the 200m. He accompanied Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix and English Gardner in the 4×100 quatrain that won the gold medal.
A year later, he won the gold medal in the 100 meters at the World Athletics Championships in London.
Bowie was adopted as a child by her grandmother after being abandoned in an orphanage. She looked like a basketball player and was reluctantly convinced to try out for track. But she was a quick learner, winning championships in the 100, 200 and long jump before attending college.
His first great international laurel was the bronze medal in the 100 meters at the 2015 World Cup. “My grandmother has told me throughout my life that I am capable of achieving anything I set my mind to,” he said after getting on the podium.
