Olympic champ Tori Bowie’s mental health struggles were no secret inside track’s tight-knit family

BUDAPEST (Hungary): Olympic gold medalist Tori Bowie’s autopsy included an easy-to-overlook, one-line notation beneath the heading “Medical History:” Bipolar disorder.

In and around track circles, where the champion sprinter’s absence is hitting particularly hard heading into Saturday’s opening in Hungary of the first world championships since her death, Bowie’s mental health struggles were more than an afterthought.

They were a stark reality that came to light during training over the years. They also revealed themselves in the Florida neighborhood where police found her body days after the 32-year-old, who was eight months pregnant, died at home due to what the coroner said were complications of childbirth.

“It’s not that she slipped through the cracks,” her one-time coach, Al Joyner, told The Associated Press last month. “I think people didn’t take it seriously enough.”

Bipolar disorder, a mental-health condition that causes extreme mood swings, can be treatable with medication and counseling. However, the National Institute of Mental Health cites studies that say that of some 4.4% of US adults who experience the disorder, 82.9% encounter “serious impairment.”

Though Bowie had access to mental-health services through both the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee and USA Track and Field, officials at both organizations said she did not avail herself of those in the months and weeks before her April 23 death.

The officials said they believe Bowie’s mental health played a role in how she handled what became an increasingly difficult pregnancy, one she dealt with without much assistance from friends, family or medical professionals. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential information.

The AP spoke with Joyner as well as six other USA track and Olympic officials or team members who knew Bowie over her decade-plus as a prize-winning sprinter, then during her retirement. AP also reviewed autopsy and police records, including a 911 call from a family acquaintance who had been asked to check on Bowie at her house after no one heard from her in days.

“Last time I spoke to this girl, it was over three weeks ago. I saw her here at her home and she was living without power,” said the acquaintance, whose name is redacted from the 911 recording. “I reported to her family that I was concerned about her mental health.”

There were other red flags.

Neighbors saw Bowie sleeping on the floor at a local recreation center and another time, sleeping on a bench with groceries near her feet at a park near her house. The neighbors spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal the disturbing details of Bowie’s case.

One of the neighbors called the US Olympic committee with their concerns and the committee notified USA Track and Field. Track officials reached out to Bowie’s agent, Kimberly Holland, but Holland said Bowie was not in need of help.

Holland told the AP this month that Bowie had access to health care. “I didn’t have any red flags,” she told The Washington Post in June, adding that Bowie was insistent on not delivering her baby in a hospital.

Police went to Bowie’s house on May 2 after receiving several calls, including the 911 call from the acquaintance, who told the dispatcher she didn’t feel safe entering because of the smell emanating from the residence.