(Los Angeles) American sprinter Tori Bowie, Olympic runner-up in the 100m in 2016 then world champion in 2017, died at the age of 32 in circumstances that have not yet been clarified.
His death was announced on Wednesday by the agency which represented him, then confirmed by World Athletics, the international athletics federation, and by the American federation.
In a statement, the Orange County, Florida Sheriff’s Office said Frentorish’Tori’Bowie’s lifeless body was discovered the day before.
“On May 2, 2023, around 1 p.m., deputies [du shérif] went to a house […] to ascertain the condition of a woman in her thirties who had not given any sign of life for several days, ”said the press release.
“A woman, provisionally identified as Frentorish “Tori” Bowie (date of birth: 8/27/1990), was found dead in the house. No sign of crime has been noted, ”continue the sheriff’s services.
Icon Sport Management, which represented Tori Bowie, announced his death earlier in the day. “We have lost a client, a dear friend, a daughter and a sister. Tori was a champion and a real ray of sunshine, ”she wrote on her social networks without providing details on the circumstances of the death.
World Athletics and then the United States Athletics Federation (USATF) confirmed the athlete’s death. “Her sporting heritage is immeasurable, we will miss her terribly,” wrote Max Siegel, the director of American athletics, in a press release.
Shock and sadness
Born August 27, 1990 in Sand Hill, rural Mississippi, raised by her grandmother, Tori Bowie transitioned from long jump to sprint in 2014, setting the world’s best performance in the 100m that year, in 1080 at the Monaco meeting.
She then forged a big track record in a dazzling fashion, first by winning three Olympic medals in 2016 in Rio with gold in the 4x100m relay, silver in the 100m behind Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah and bronze. of 200m.
The following year, in London, Tori Bowie became world champion in the straight line, winning in 1085, and also took part in Team USA’s golden relay in the 4x100m relay.
After a final bang in 2019 at the Doha Worlds (4e long jump), the sprinter from Mississippi (personal best of 1078 over 100 m) has never been able to find her best level. Far from international games, she had only competed in one official competition in 2022 – a 200m in Florida.
“My heart is broken thinking of Tori Bowie’s family, a superb rival and a solar person. Your energy and your smile will be with me forever, ”wrote Jamaican sprint legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, two-time Olympic 100m champion, on her social media.
The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, expressed in a press release “the shock and the deep sadness” caused by the announcement of his death. “The world of sport, he added, has lost a true champion. »