Olympic star Tori Bowie’s weight dropped below 100 pounds despite being eight months pregnant when loved ones tried to convince her to “eat for two” before her tragic death last month, a friend has revealed.
Bowie, 32, was found dead at her Florida home on May 2 due to childbirth complications. The autopsy said she was “going into labor” when she died, according to TMZ.
The gold medalist’s agent and longtime friend Kimberly Holland has revealed how the star’s health rapidly deteriorated before her tragic death.
Holland told NBC news she had lectured Bowie about “eating for two” while watching her struggle with her weight, but the track and field star pushed her away.
“I started coming across as a little preachy, I think, because she started shutting me down and she said, ‘Miss Kim, the baby’s fine.’ So that was my cue to leave it alone,” she said.
American sprinter and Olympic gold medalist Tori Bowie was found dead at the age of 32
Kimberly Holland (right) said her close friend and client Tori Bowie (left) was struggling to eat enough before her tragic death last month but was “so happy” to be expecting a child
At the peak of her career, Bowie won gold at the 2016 Olympics and was known as the fastest woman in the world.
But those who knew her have since revealed a history of troubling behavior, with a neighbor telling the DailyMail.com that her life has been “erratic and unhealthy.”
Holland said her attempts to get Bowie back on track during her pregnancy were in vain, but her friends and family never suspected her life was in danger.
“As an adult, you make your own decisions,” she said, admitting that Bowie had never been a “really big eater.”
“We probably would have done everything differently to make sure everything was taken care of.”
Despite her autopsy citing bipolar disorder on her medical history, Holland said the sprinter was in a good mood during their last conversation.
“(She was) just so happy,” she said, adding that Bowie had already bought baby clothes and is “looking forward to this new chapter in her life.”
“I thought that conversation was generally a conversation about new beginnings,” continued Holland, who oversaw Bowie’s career but insisted their relationship was “more than an athlete-manager relationship.”
“She was like, you know, my daughter,” she added.
Bowie (right) poses with her gold medal next to teammates (L-R) Aaliyah Brown, Allyson Felix and Morolake Akinosun
Tori with her sister Tamarra, who hinted at mental health issues that were to blame for her death
Bowie was once the fastest woman in the world at the peak of her track career
Holland admitted she was worried about Bowie’s pregnancy, and when she asked if she was going to her antenatal appointments, Bowie brushed her off, insisting she had no intention of having her baby in a hospital.
The agent tried to convince Bowie to stay at her home in Atlanta to help her through the final stages of her pregnancy and make sure she was taken care of.
Bowie declined the offer, and an autopsy report concluded that the athlete weighed only 96 pounds when she died, despite being eight months pregnant.
The autopsy report noted there were no signs of foul play or drugs, and listed possible complications contributing to her death, such as respiratory distress and eclampsia – a rare pregnancy condition that can cause seizures and comas.
Friends and neighbors have recalled a series of bizarre incidents from Bowie’s past, including a resident who said the sprinter once grabbed a knife and yelled at her boyfriend in the street.
The celebrated track star also allegedly pelted eggs at the home across the street in the Orlando suburb of Winter Garden.
Her latest Instagram post alluded to a years-long absence from participating in athletic events
Bowie’s $500,000 home has been on the verge of repossession for the past two years because she owed more than $22,000 to the homeowners association, according to court documents accessed by DailyMail.com
As seen in the photos from DailyMail.com, her garage door has been wide open for the past three months
At least two neighbors separately told DailyMail.com that Bowie appeared to be about seven or eight months pregnant when Orange County deputies conducted a welfare check at 1 p.m. Tuesday and found her body.
“She was a skinny woman and looked like she had half a basketball under her shirt,” said one.
“I came out of my house once and she was standing there on the street with a knife in her hand and yelling at a man,” recalls neighbor Zehra Ugurlu, 52.
“A family friend of mine managed to talk to her and calm her down, but it was scary, it made my daughters uncomfortable.
“Her life was erratic and unhealthy, but I am very sorry for what happened to her. She was so young. Why didn’t her friends help her?
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Bowie’s $500,000 home has been on the verge of repossession for the past two years because she owed more than $22,000 to the homeowners association, according to court documents accessed by DailyMail.com.
The garage door had been left wide open for the past three months, and the front door and windows were often ajar, leaving locals wondering if the two-bedroom property had been taken over by squatters.
“We heard yelling and screaming, loud music in the middle of the night. But what shocked me was that she seemed to be getting much better lately,” said another neighbor and friend, who declined to be named.
“It seemed like having a baby had made her happier. That’s what makes it so sad – we’re talking about two lost lives.
“It shows that you can have fame, success, anything in the world, but it doesn’t fix what’s going wrong inside. She had personal demons, but she was a good person.”
Bowie last competed on the world stage at the 2019 World Championships in Qatar
Bowie enjoyed support from Adidas and starred in a Valentino ad campaign when she rose to fame
Bowie last competed on the world stage at the World Championships in Qatar in 2019, but has spent the past four years living quietly in Florida, modeling occasionally for Valentino and ESPN.
After winning bronze at the 2015 World Championships, Bowie qualified for the US Olympic team for Rio 2016 where she raced to silver in the 100 meters and took bronze in the 200 meters.
Along with fellow sprinters English Gardner, Allyson Felix and Tianna Bartoletta, she took a gold medal for Team USA in the 4×100-meter relay.
She won the 100m dash at the 2017 World Championships, establishing herself as the fastest woman in the world at the time.
In a video after she rose to fame, Bowie said she had struggled “all her life” but was inspired by her family and faith.
“I come from a small town called Sand Hill, Mississippi.
Where I come from, we shouldn’t succeed. It’s been a battle since day one. My birth mother dropped me off in foster care when I was two years old.
“My whole life has been a struggle. It’s great to hear it, it’s something I’ve always dreamed of. It’s humble. I’ve been through so much and I’ve never let anything beat me.
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