Track and Field Career: She is the fastest woman in the world.
Bowie’s rise to becoming the fastest woman in the world began on the basketball court in Sandhill, Miss.
Pisgah High School was too small to field separate basketball and track teams, so if Bowie wanted to play basketball, she also had to run track. He helped his track team win state titles, competing in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and long jump.
When she was recruited by the University of Southern Mississippi, she said she would compete in track and field if they tried to make the women’s basketball team a walk-on. She stuck to the path.
When he turned pro in 2013, his greatest skill appeared to be the long jump. But she quickly switched to sprinting and her career blossomed. Bowie became a three-time Olympic medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics and a year later claimed the title of fastest woman in the world by winning the 100 meters at the World Championships.
He was generous with his winnings, and would visit foster homes across Florida and Mississippi three to four times a year to deliver gifts and spend time with the children, said his friend Antoine Prudhomme.
Her final years: she turned inward.
Over the past few years, the ever-reclusive Bowie has lost touch with many of the coaches who were part of his journey to the top of the game.
“She backed away from me,” said her longtime agent, Kimberly N. Holland said on the day of the funeral. “But she always came back because of the bond we had.”
She was excited about the pregnancy, Holland said. The two spoke on the phone a few weeks before her death.
“This is one of the best conversations we’ve had in a long time,” Hollande said by phone Monday. “We laughed like schoolgirls. We laughed so hard my stomach hurt.
Bowie agreed to move to Atlanta so Holland could help raise the baby. They were both so excited, Holland said, “I heard happiness.” That was the last time they spoke.
“Friend of animals everywhere. Coffee maven. Professional food trailblazer. Twitter buff.”