Olympic gold medalist dead at age 32

A track and field star who earned three medals at the Rio Olympics has passed away, her management company has confirmed.

On Tuesday, Tori Bowie was discovered dead in Florida, though details regarding her death are scarce. It is unclear under what circumstances she was found, and her cause of death has not yet been determined. She was just 32 years old.

Icon Management, which represented Bowie, released a statement about her passing. "We’ve lost a client, dear friend, daughter and sister," the group tweeted on Wednesday. "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."

Bowie, who was raised by her grandmother in rural Mississippi, first entered the sports world as a basketball player but turned to track and field as a teenager, excelling in sprinting and the long jump in particular. She went on to attend the University of Southern Mississippi, where she twice won the NCAA championship for the long jump in both indoor and outdoor track.

In 2016, she traveled to Rio de Janeiro to compete for the U.S. at the Summer Olympics. She won two individual medals, a silver in the 100m and a bronze in the 200m. She also ran the anchor leg of the gold-winning 4x100m relay team with Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix, and English Gardner.

A year later, Bowie once again represented the U.S. on the international stage in the IAAF World Championships. There, she officially became the fastest woman in the world, finishing the 100m dash in just 10.85 seconds. She also placed fourth in the long jump at the 2019 World Championships but did not participate in the 2020 Tokyo games.

"My entire life my grandmother told me I could do whatever I set my mind to," Bowie said in 2015 after her first major international competition.

USA Track and Field CEO Max Siegel called Bowie a "talented athlete" who made an "immeasurable" impact on the sport. "[S]he will be greatly missed," he said in a statement.

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