The Olympic medalist and former 100-meter world champion was showing signs of passing out when he was discovered dead on May 2.
US Olympic champion sprinter Tori Bowie died of complications during childbirth, according to an autopsy report reported by US media outlets.
Bowie, who won three medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, was found dead last month. He is 32 years old.
The report from the medical examiner’s office in Orlando, Florida, said Bowie was approximately eight months pregnant and showing signs of labor when she was discovered dead on May 2.
It said she was found in bed at a “secured residence” with possible complications including respiratory distress and eclampsia. The autopsy report said “the manner of death was natural”.
Bowie’s agent, Kimberly Holland, told CBS News that Monday’s news will end “painful” speculation about the cause of death.
“Unfortunately, many people, including the media, have made speculations that he did something to himself, which is very damaging,” he said.
“So hopefully, now that the truth is known, there will be many apologies.”
Black women have the highest maternal mortality rate in the United States — 69.9 per 100,000 live births for 2021, nearly three times the rate of white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. .
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded in early May to a home in the area “for a health check on a woman in her 30s who had not been seen or heard from in several days. ” He was later identified as Frentorish “Tori” Bowie.
Toxicology results were negative and the autopsy report listed bipolar disorder in his medical history.
Bowie grew up in Mississippi after being taken in by his grandmother as an infant. As a teenager, he considered himself a basketball player and only reluctantly appeared on the track, where he became an elite sprinter and long jumper. He attended the University of Southern Mississippi, where he swept the long jump NCAA championships in indoor and outdoor events in 2011.
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Bowie won silver in the 100 and bronze in the 200. She then ran the anchor leg of a 4×100 team with Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix and English Gardner to earn gold.
A year later, he won the 100 meters at the 2017 world championships in London. He also helped the 4×100 team to gold.
“A talented athlete, his impact on the sport is immeasurable, and he will be greatly missed,” USA Track and Field chief executive Max Siegel said in a statement in May.
US sprinting great Justin Gatlin paid tribute to Bowie last month as a “fierce competitor and great teammate”.
“Tori was a beautiful person and had a smile that made you smile, too,” Gatlin said. “A true legend who made him a mark of our game and heart.”
