Olympic sprinter Tori Bowie died from complications of childbirth, autopsy report concludes
Orland (AP): US Olympic champion sprinter Tori Bowie died from complications of childbirth, according to an autopsy report.
Bowie, who won three medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, was found dead last month. She was 32.
The report from the office of the medical examiner in Orlando, Florida, said Bowie was estimated to be eight months pregnant and showing signs of undergoing labor when she was discovered dead on May 2. It said she was found in bed in a “secured residence” with possible complications including respiratory distress and eclampsia. The autopsy report said “the manner of death is natural.”
Black women have the highest maternal mortality rate in the United States — 69.9 per 1,00,000 live births for 2021, almost three times the rate for white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded in early May to a home in the area “for a well-being check of a woman in her 30s who had not been seen or heard from in several days.” She was later identified as Frentorish “Tori” Bowie.
The toxicology results were negative and the autopsy report listed bipolar disorder in her medical history.
Bowie grew up in Mississippi after being taken in by her grandmother as an infant. She considered herself a basketball player and only reluctantly showed up for track as a teenager, where she blossomed into an elite sprinter and long jumper. She attended Southern Mississippi, where she swept the long jump NCAA championships at the indoor and outdoor events in 2011.
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Bowie won silver in the 100 and bronze in the 200. She then ran the anchor leg on a 4×100 team with Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix and English Gardner to take gold.
A year later, she won the 100 meters at the 2017 world championships in London. She also helped the 4×100 team to gold.
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Maharashtra village goes ‘caste-free’, penalties for abuse, 2-hour student “no-phone” period
New Delhi: A village in Maharashtra's Ahilyanagar district made an effort to redefine social boundaries through a unanimous gram sabha resolution, with residents of Soundala publicly declaring the village "caste-free" earlier this month.
According to a report published by The Print, during a specially convened gram sabha, a resolution was passed on February 5, which calls for the removal of caste-based distinctions from public and social life. It urges residents to interact only on the basis of shared humanity. It also prohibits inquiries into caste identity and affirms equal access to public spaces, religious places, water sources, schools and government services.
Soundala is located about 350 km from Mumbai. It has a population of around 2,500 across nearly 450 families. Majority of the families belong to upper castes while a significant Dalit population, alongside a small number of Muslim and Christian families also live in the village. While overt discrimination had been declining over the years, residents say the resolution gives formal expression to changes that were gradually taking root.
The initiative was led by village sarpanch Sharad Argade. The Print quoted him as saying that the move was initiated because of rising caste and communal tensions in neighbouring areas of the state and he feared that social divisions seen elsewhere could harden in his own village if left unaddressed.
According to Argade, the idea of declaring Soundala caste-free was discussed over time, influenced by social worker Pramod Zinjade and shaped by his family’s long involvement in local politics. Argade’s wife Priyanka, a former sarpanch, is credited by villagers with playing a key role in challenging social norms through her outreach work, which included visiting homes across caste lines.
The resolution states that Soundala will not differentiate on the basis of caste, religion, creed or colour, and adopts the motto “My caste is humanity." The resolution also warns against social or economic boycotts, communal statements and the circulation of inflammatory content on social media, with provisions for penalties.
After the resolution villagers are sharing food in festivals, visiting each other's houses, and attending community events together. Older residents recall a time when Dalits were forced to sit separately at weddings, use different wells, and stay away from upper-caste houses. Members of the Muslim community also spoke of earlier experiences of exclusion that discouraged social interaction.
Soundala has also introduced penalties for verbal abuse, discouraged discriminatory practices against widows and extended financial support for widow remarriage. The gram panchayat also provides educational support to girls up to Class 12 and enforces a daily two-hour “no mobile phone” period for students to encourage study.
Two months before the caste-free resolution, the village had also adopted a practice of playing the national anthem each morning over a loudspeaker. Argade said it was intended to reinforce a shared civic identity.
Acknowledging that caste remains relevant in government policy, particularly in reservation for education and employment, the sarpanch was quoted by The Print as saying that the aim was to confine caste to official records and remove it from daily behaviour.
