In early May, Tori Bowie was found dead in her home. On Monday, the star’s agent confirmed that she died in childbirth. Now fellow sprinters Allyson Felix and Tianna Madison say they also came close to dying giving birth.
When Allyson Felix gave birth at 32 weeks, she suffered pre-eclampsia, just like Tori Bowie, and was “not sure if she was going to make it”. Even Tianna Madison has said that she was close to dying when she gave birth at 26 weeks.
In a text in Time writes the seven-time Olympic champion Felix that “three gold medalists from the relay team in Rio all wanted to be mothers. All three of us – all black women – had severe complications”.
Felix also believes that there is a health crisis for black mothers in the United States and that care must be improved so that “Tori will not have died in vain”.
According to the US National Public Health Authority, the mortality rate among black mothers is nearly three times higher than for whites during childbirth, something that Felix also draws attention to in his text. The American Public Health Authority believes that it may be due to structural racism but also differences in the quality of care.
“This needs to change, especially now in light of Tori’s tragic passing,” writes Felix.
At the World Championships in London 2017, Bowie won gold in the 100 meters and was thus able to title herself the world’s fastest woman. She was 32 years old.