Cause of death published
Olympic champion Tori Bowie died from complications from her pregnancy
Sprinter and Olympic gold medalist Tori Bowie was found dead at her Florida home in May
© Quinn Rooney / Getty Images
The news shook the athletics world in May: US sprinter and world champion Tori Bowie died at the age of just 32. The cause of death has now been announced.
Tori Bowie, a three-time medalist at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016, has died from complications from pregnancy. This was the result of an autopsy report that is available to the US medium “USA Today Sports”. Bowie grew up in Mississippi, the poorest of all US states. The 32-year-old world champion and Olympic champion died at her home in Florida. There, Orange County police called her on May 2 because a woman in her early 30s “had not been seen or heard from for several days.” Her family gives April 23 as the date of death in the obituary.
According to the autopsy report, Bowie was eight months pregnant and died from complications during childbirth. According to the authority, the track and field athlete had shortness of breath and possibly eclampsia.
US athlete Tori Bowie probably died as a result of childbirth
Eclampsia is a seizure that can occur in the last trimester of pregnancy as a result of preeclampsia. The latter was formerly known as pregnancy poisoning. Preeclampsia is a rare condition that occurs in about two percent of pregnancies in Europe. Eclampsia is often preceded by symptoms such as headaches, flickering eyes or upper abdominal pain, according to the Austrian Public Health Portal: “Eclampsia poses an acute threat to mother and child and must be treated medically.”
The ultimate cause of the condition has not yet been established, although previous research suggests that pregnancy could cause vascular damage in those affected. In addition, a 2021 study by Johns Hopkins University concluded that black women in the United States are more likely to develop preeclampsia.
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After Tori Bowie’s cause of death became known, the television station BET (Black Entertainment Television) also commented on the clinical picture in order to draw attention to this problem. Black women are disproportionately dying from pregnancy-related complications, the tweet reads, among other things: “We have a much higher risk of maternal death due to factors including chronic stress and implicit bias on the part of healthcare providers. There is still much to be learned are doing to protect and advocate for the health of black women, and we would like to extend our condolences to Tori Bowie’s family.”
Tori Bowie’s cause of death was not initially disclosed. After rumors that the athlete had allegedly died as a result of a Covid vaccination, her agent Kimberly Holland also spoke to the US broadcaster CBS News on Monday evening and confirmed that Bowie had died from complications of her pregnancy.
Sources: USATodaySports, family obituary, Public health portal Austria, Johns Hopkins University