Tori Bowie, the sprinter who won three Olympic medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, has died aged 32.
Bowie's death was announced on Wednesday by her management company and USA Track and Field. No cause of death was given.
“USATF is deeply saddened by the passing of Tori Bowie, a three-time Olympic medallist and two-time world champion," USA Track and Field CEO Max Siegel said in a statement.
"A talented athlete, her impact on the sport is immeasurable, and she will be greatly missed."
Growing up in Sandhill, Mississippi, Bowie was coaxed into track as a teenager and quickly rose up the ranks as a sprinter and long jumper. She attended Southern Mississippi, where she swept the long jump NCAA championships at the indoor and outdoor events in 2011.
Bowie turned in an electric performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she won silver in the 100m and bronze in the 200m, both behind Jamaica's Elaine Thompson.
She then ran the anchor leg on a 4x100 team with Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix and English Gardner to take gold.
A year later, she won the 100 metres at the 2017 world championships in London and helped then US 4x100 team to gold.
Bowie was taken in by her grandmother as an infant after she was left at a foster home. She considered herself a basketball player and only reluctantly showed up for track, but Bowie was a fast learner, becoming a state champion in the 100, 200 and long jump before going to college.
Her first major international medal was a 100-metre bronze at the 2015 world championships. After winning, she said, "my entire life my grandmother told me I could do whatever I set my mind to".
In a post on Twitter, Icon Management included a picture of Bowie holding up her hands in the shape of a heart.
The management company wrote: "We’ve lost a client, dear friend, daughter and sister. 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".
Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce said she was heartbroken at the loss of her rival.
"My heart breaks for the family of Tori Bowie. A great competitor and source of light. Your energy and smile will always be with me. Rest in peace," she wrote.
AP/ABC
