World champion sprinter and three-time Olympic medalist Tori Bowie died from complications related to childbirth, an autopsy reportedly found.
A report from the Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office in Florida said Bowie, who died at age 32, had a “well developed fetus,” with the athlete estimated to have been 8 months pregnant, and was undergoing labor at the time of her death in May, USA Today reported.
The manner of death was ruled natural, the medical examiner’s office said, according to USA Today. NBC News has not yet obtained or verified the autopsy report. The Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Orange County sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday night from NBC News.
The 32-year-old was found at a residence in Orange County after sheriff’s deputies were asked to conduct a wellbeing check on a woman in her 30s who had not been seen or heard from in several days. The woman found dead at the residence was identified as Frentorish “Tori” Bowie, with authorities saying there were “no signs of foul play.”
Officials said possible complications Bowie had included respiratory distress and eclampsia, which is the onset of seizures or a coma related to preeclampsia, a high blood pressure disorder that can occur during pregnancy, according to the Mayo Clinic.
“Eclampsia can happen without any previously observed signs or symptoms of preeclampsia,” the Mayo Clinic states on its website.
“Signs and symptoms that may appear before seizures include severe headaches, vision problems, mental confusion or altered behaviors. But, there are often no symptoms or warning signs,” it says, noting that eclampsia can occur before, during or after delivery.
Bowie’s death was announced on May 3 by her management company and USA Track & Field.
“We’ve lost a client, dear friend, daughter and sister,” Icon Management Inc. said in a statement at the time. “Tori was a champion…a beacon of light that shined so bright! We’re truly heartbroken and our prayers are with the family, friends and everyone that loved her.”
Bowie was best known for running the anchor leg that took America’s 4×100-meter relay team to gold in Brazil, leading a legendary squad of Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix and English Gardner.
A native of Sand Hill, Mississippi, Bowie also won the 100-meter silver and the 200-meter bronze in the 2016 Games. The athlete went on to win the 100-meter gold at the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London.
Bowie always credited her success to her loved ones, especially to the grandmother who raised her.
“Sand Hill doesn’t have any stoplights, not even one,” she said in a 2016 interview. “I mean that’s all I’ve known my entire life. So I’m a small-country-town girl, even at heart.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
