US sprinter, Olympic medalist Tori Bowie died during childbirth - report

United States' Tori Bowie gestures after receiving the gold medal she won in the women's 100m final during the World Athletics Championships in 2017. Photo / AP

US sprinter Tori Bowie died last month due to complications of childbirth, according to a coroner’s report.

The 32-year-old Olympic gold medalist was found in her bed in her Florida home on May 2.

According to the coroner’s report, obtained by TMZ, she died from complications of childbirth. The news site reports that she was about 8 months pregnant and “undergoing labour” when she died.

They report that her family called police after they had not heard from the champion athlete in several days and officers made the heartbreaking discovery.

USA Today reported that officials cited eclampsia as possibly contributing to Bowie’s death.

Eclampsia is a serious but rare consequence of pre-eclampsia and requires immediate emergency medical care.

Bowie’s death was announced on May 3 by her management company and USA Track and Field. No cause of death was given at the time.

“USATF is deeply saddened by the passing of Tori Bowie, a three-time Olympic medalist 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 100 and bronze in the 200. 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. She also helped the 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 worlds in 2015. 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.”

- Additional reporting, NZ Herald