Olympic track and field star Allyson Felix is drawing attention to the Black maternal mortality crisis following the death of her teammate Tori Bowie, who died after suffering complications related to childbirth. In an essay published by Time, Felix called on the medical community to do more to address the issue, citing her own experience with preeclampsia while pregnant with her daughter. The CDC reports that the maternal mortality rate for Black women is 2.6 times higher than that of white women. Felix hopes that Bowie's death will bring greater awareness to the issue and lead to positive change.
Allyson Felix, the most decorated track athlete in U.S. history, has written an essay in TIME highlighting the "Black Maternal Health crisis" in the United States following the death of her former relay teammate, Tori Bowie, due to pregnancy-related complications. Felix urged awareness and concrete action, citing the statistic that in 2021 the maternal mortality rate of Black women was more than twice that of white women. Bowie's autopsy report listed eclampsia as a possible complication that contributed to her death.
Tori Bowie, a talented sprinter and long jumper from Mississippi, who won state titles and broke national collegiate records, died at the age of 32. Bowie was known for her unapologetic style and confidence, which inspired girls in Ghana and teens in Mississippi. She was part of the USA's 4x100m women's team that won gold at the 2016 Olympics, where she showed how comfortable Black women with darker complexions could be in their skin and confident in defining their own aesthetics. Bowie's death is a great loss to the world of sports.
