Tori Bowie Biography: Get to know track and field star

Tori Bowie Biography — Frentorish “Tori” Bowie born August 27, 1990, was an American track and field athlete, who primarily competed in the long jump, 100 meters, and 200 m.

She won the silver medal in the 100 m and bronze in the 200 m at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Bowie claimed bronze and gold in the 100 m at the 2015 and 2017 World Championships in Athletics respectively.

She earned gold medals in the women’s 4 × 400 m relays at both the 2016 Olympic Games and 2017 World Championships.

Tori Bowie competed collegiately for the University of Southern Mississippi and was a two-time NCAA Division I long jump champion, winning indoors and outdoors in 2011.

After the 2014 World Indoor Championships, where she made her international debut competing in the long jump, she switched her focus to the sprints.

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Tori Bowie Biography

Born in Sand Hill, Rankin County, Mississippi, she attended Pisgah High School and began competing in track for the school. As a junior in 2007, Bowie won Mississippi state high school championships in the 100 m and the long jump; as a senior in 2008, she won state championships in the 100 m, 200 m, and long jump. She also won three state titles in the 4×100 m relay, as well as competing on the state team in women’s basketball.

Bowie gained an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Southern Mississippi, doing an interdisciplinary degree in psychology and social work. She represented the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and Lady Eagles in NCAA Division I competitions.

Doing both sprints and jumps, she had her best results in the long jump during her freshman year, coming third at the Conference USA indoors, second at the Conference USA outdoors and reaching the NCAA Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship, where she jumped in qualifying only.

In her second year of collegiate competition, she set an indoor best of 6.23 m (20 ft 5+1⁄4 in) in the long jump and was the Conference USA indoor runner-up. At the outdoor Conference USA meet, she came third in the long jump and also made the 100 m final.

A personal record of 6.43 m (21 ft 1 in) for the long jump saw her qualify again for the NCAA meet,[citation needed] where she finished sixth in the final. She also jumped nationally at the 2010 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, managing eighth place overall.

The 2011 season saw Bowie win her first collegiate national championships. She won the long jump at the Conference USA indoor championship, where she was also runner-up in the triple jump. A jump of 6.52 m (21 ft 4+1⁄2 in) was enough to win Bowie her first college title in the long jump at the NCAA Division I Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships – this was also a school record mark.

She was second in both horizontal jumps at the Conference USA Outdoors,[14] then won the NCAA outdoor long jump title with another school record mark of 6.64 m (21 ft 9+1⁄4 in).[15] For her achievements she was named the conference female athlete of the year.

In her final year of college at the University of Southern Mississippi, she began with a triple jump win at the Conference USA indoor championships with a personal record of 13.09 m (42 ft 11+1⁄4 in) for the event. She also managed second place in the long jump. Bowie competed in both jumps at the NCAA indoor championship, but was out of the top eight in both events.

Outdoors, she significantly improved her 100 m best that year, dropping from 11.76 to 11.28 seconds. She entered three events at the outdoor Conference USA meet, coming third in the 100 m, first in the long jump with a new school record of 6.78 m (22 ft 2+3⁄4 in), as well as fifth in the triple jump. In her last major outing for the Southern Miss Eagles she tried to defend her NCAA outdoor title in the long jump, but was beaten by Whitney Gipson and finished second.

Professional career

Bowie began competing in track and field professionally in 2013. At the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships she was a 100 m semi-finalist and narrowly missed the long jump team for the 2013 World Championships in Athletics after finishing fourth in that event. She also competed on the IAAF Diamond League circuit for the first time, long jumping at the Adidas Grand Prix and Herculis meets.

Bowie continued to improve at the start of 2014, setting indoor bests of 7.14 seconds for the 60 m dash and clearing 6.95 m (22 ft 9+1⁄2 in) for the long jump in Naperville, Illinois. After a win at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, her runner-up finish in the long jump at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships gained Bowie a spot on team for the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships. Unfortunately, she faltered in the qualifying and was eliminated, coming 14th overall.

In June 2014, she set two new personal records in the 100 m dash & 200 m dash events at the IAAF Diamond League Championship. She competed in the Adidas Grand Prix event in Randall’s Island, New York. Bowie placed first in the BMW Women’s 100 m race with a time of 11.07 seconds. She ran a 10.91, netting her the top time in the semifinal at the 2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Tori Bowie won with a 10.81 time at the 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships to earn a spot in the women’s 100 meter heats at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics, where she went on to earn a bronze medal.

Bowie placed third in the 100 m by running a 10.779 at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Bowie won the silver medal in the 100 meter dash with a time of 10.83s. She then won the bronze medal in the 200 meter dash with a time of 22.15s. She also won a gold medal as a member of the 4×100 m relay team.

At the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London, Bowie won the gold medal in the 100 meter dash, achieving a time of 10.85 seconds, with a .01 second margin of victory.

At the 2019 BYU Robison Invitational on Clarence Robison Track at Brigham Young University, Bowie jumped the entry standard for the 2019 World Championships 6.78 m (22 ft 2+3⁄4 in) on April 27, 2019.

Tori Bowie Death

On May 3, 2023, it was announced that Bowie had died at her home in Florida, at the age of 32.

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