USATF mourns the loss of Tori Bowie

INDIANAPOLIS — Three-time Olympic medalist Tori Bowie, who won gold in the 4x100m relay, silver in the 100m and bronze in the 200m at the 2016 Games in Rio, has passed. She was 32.

One of the most exciting athletes to come out of the state of Mississippi after winning 2008 state crowns in the 100m, 200m and long jump at Pisgah High School in Brandon, Bowie first emerged on the national scene when she won the NCAA indoor and outdoor titles in the long jump as a junior at the University of Southern Mississippi in 2011. She added silver in the long jump at the NCAA outdoor meet the next year and was also a national qualifier in the 100m.

USATF is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Tori Bowie, a three-time Olympic medalist and two-time world champion.

Her impact on the sport is immeasurable, and she will be greatly missed. pic.twitter.com/AHu5SejZ5N

— USATF (@usatf) May 3, 2023

Bowie’s quickly-developing talents as a sprinter carried her to the semifinal of the 100m at the 2013 USATF Championships, and in 2014 she had Diamond League wins at Rome and Monaco, lowering her PB to 10.80 at the latter. She earned her first Team USATF international berth with a runner-up finish in the long jump at the USATF Indoor Championships, making the long jump squad for the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland.

Winning her first USATF national gold in 2015 with a victory at 100m, Bowie put the long jump on the back burner and focused her energies on the track, grabbing bronze in the dash at the World Championships in Beijing. Starting her 2016 season with a runner-up finish in the 60m at the USATF Indoor Championships and a sixth-place effort at the World Indoors in Portland, Oregon, Bowie was victorious in the Doha Diamond League 100m at 10.80 and romped to a 21.99 PB to win the Pre Classic 200m.

She won the 200m at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene and was also third in the 100m in what would end up as her lifetime best of 10.78, setting the stage for her epic performance at the Rio Games. Winning her heat and semi in the 100m, Bowie lined up between Jamaican stars Elaine Thompson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the final and sped to a 10.83 to take silver. Four days later she again faced Thompson, this time in the 200m final, along with Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands. Bowie’s 22.15 earned her bronze.

An almost unheard of re-run in the heats of the 4x100m relay after interference from the Brazilian squad required the team of Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix, English Gardner and Morolake Akinosun to do a solo time trial later that evening, and the quartet clocked 41.77 to advance to the final. Bowie replaced Akinosun on the anchor leg for the final and ran a blistering final stretch to cross the line in 41.01 and give the U.S. gold in the second-fastest time ever.

Building on her success, Bowie won the USATF 100m title in 2017 and took gold at the World Championships in London in 10.85 before again anchoring the 4x100m relay to victory. She also slashed her 200m PB to 21.77 to win the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene and earned a World Championships 200m berth with a third-place finish at the USATF Championships, but chose not to compete in that event in London.

Bowie’s last year of major international competition in 2019 saw her just miss out on the long jump podium at the World Championships in Doha, placing fourth, and she also competed in the heats of the 100m after qualifying as a wildcard due to her London victory in 2017.

Off the track, Bowie was a professional fashion model and walked the runway at Paris Fashion Week in 2019 for Y-3, a collaboration label between her athletic sponsor, adidas, and Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto. She also featured in Valentino’s 2018 Resort campaign and did work with Stella McCartney.

Photo credit: Oregon star Arianna Washington (left) and Tori Bowie stride towards the finish line in a heat of the women’s 200 meters. Photo by Dennis J. Freeman/News4usonline