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It has been more than 24 hours since the new facts about Tori Bowie’s death have come to light. Yet, the mystery surrounding the same doesn’t seem to die down. While it has been clearly reported after an autopsy that Tori Bowie died due to childbirth complications, implications around why and how it happened remain to be uncovered. Meanwhile, fans are outraged and so is decorated American track and field athlete and Olympic gold medalist, Allyson Felix. She further casts a shadow on the indifference to maternal care and the rising mortality rates among young women.

In less than 24 hours after the autopsy report came out, news spread like wildfire on all media channels and their social media handles. People also raised questions on the how young mothers still don’t get the required attention and care in some societies. Allyson Felix seconded the notion in her Instagram story.

Allyson Felix makes a heartfelt and emotional appeal

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11x Olympic medalist, 7 of which are gold, Allyson Felix recently took to her Instagram story and wrote, “3 of the 4 members of this gold medal relay team almost died or did die during childbirth. It’s absolutely heartbreaking. We continue to face a black maternal mortality crisis in this country. We have to do more”. She shared the information from another post by American athlete Tianna Tashelle or Tianna Bartoletta.

USA Today via Reuters

The relay team, in this context, was during the 2016 Rio Olympics, where Felix, Bowie, Bartoletta (Tashelle), and English Gardner won the gold medal in 4×100 meters race. Following Bowie’s unfortunate demise, Bartoletta took to her Instagram to share that she and Felix too almost died during childbirth.

READ MORE – US Track Legend Allyson Felix Launches A Revolutionizing Initiative For ?Mom? Athletes

Allyson Felix and Bartoletta are just two athletes from the larger spectrum of sporting world, who are all devastated as well as infuriated at this prospect. They wanted to raise awareness on this matter so that going forward mothers, and especially from different communities, don’t have to suffer a similar fate.

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A call for the sporting world worldwide to take notice

“Why? Black women have the HIGHEST maternal mortality rate. 3 times higher than white women. And the more educated the black woman, the higher her mortality rate becomes”, wrote Bartoletta in her Instagram post. She went on to detail her ordeal with pregnancy complications, and why she believes that she is extremely lucky to be alive today. However, had the system not failed her, and countless others like her, then things could’ve been different for them, and maybe Bowie could’ve been alive today.

via Imago

Allyson Felix too commented on that post, expressing her grief and anger over the matter. Her words clearly depict her frustration over the constant negligence that she believes exists. In the end, she ended on a positive note saying that, “It?s why I won?t stop doing this work. We can?t sit by and continue to watch our loved ones die when many of these complications are preventable”. She showed her solidarity with Tori Bowie.

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