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Olympic Sprinter Frentorish 'Tori' Bowie Dies At 32

She won a gold medal as a member of the 4×100 m relay team at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Frentorish “Tori” Bowie, an Olympic medalist in track and the long jump has died, ESPN reports. She was 32. Her company, Icon Management, confirmed her passing in a post on Twitter.

“We’ve lost a client, dear friend, daughter, and sister,” the tweet read. “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.”

On Tuesday afternoon (May 2), the Orange County Sheriff's Office in Orlando, Florida, were dispatched to a residence "for a well-being check of a woman in her 30s who had not been seen or heard from in several days."

Per the report, the officers wrote that a woman on the scene  "tentatively identified as Frentorish "Tori" Bowie…was found dead in the home. There were no signs of foul play."

A native of Sand Hill, Miss., Bowie launched her career as a track and field star at Pisgah High School where she won Mississippi state high school championships in the 100 m and the long jump in 2007. In 2008, she won state championships in the 100 m, 200 m, and long jump in her senior year.

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While attending the University of Southern Mississippi, she won the long jump NCAA championships at the indoor and outdoor events in 2011.

Turning pro in 2013, Bowie won her first major international medal, the bronze, at the World Championships in Beijing in 2015. Following the race, she paid tribute to her grandmother who raised her from an infant.

"My entire life my grandmother told me I could do whatever I set my mind to,” she said after her victory.

At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Bowie won a gold medal as a member of the 4×100 m relay team. Running the anchor leg, she was joined by Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix, and English Gardner. She also won the silver medal in the 100-meter dash and the bronze medal in the 200-meter dash.

The following year at the World Athletics Championships in London, she won a gold medal in a close race, edging out Marie-Josée Ta of the  Ivory Coast by a hundredth of a second.

After finishing fourth at the 2019 world championships, Bowie's last race was in June 2022.

On Twitter, the USA Track & Field paid tribute to Bowie and shared that her loss is a devastating blow to the sport.

"USATF is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Tori Bowie, a three-time Olympic medalist and two-time world champion," USA Track and Field tweeted. "Her impact on the sport is immeasurable, and she will be greatly missed."

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