An official cause of death has not yet been confirmed
Bodybuilder Jodi Vance has died at the age of 20 after suffering a fatal heart attack last week.
Vance was attending the Arnold Sports Festival in Ohio, supporting athetes she coached at the time of her death on February 27.
Vance’s family announced the news on social media saying: “Her heart stopped due to complications of severe dehydration. Despite all efforts by the hospital, they were unable to revive her.
“She was a beautiful person inside and out and she will be missed every single day. This was sudden and unexpected. Please give her family time to process this loss in peace. If anyone takes anything from this, please put your health first.”
Vance was not competing at the four-day event but reportedly started feeling sick while attending the expo.
She was reportedly backstage supporting competitors when she started vomiting and exhibiting other dehydration-related symptoms.
According to TMZ, she was taken from Sonesta Columbus Downtown hotel to Grant Medical, a local hospital, where she later died.
While her family has speculated her death was the result of heart complications, the Franklin County Coroner’s Office has not yet confirmed an official cause of death.
Her coach, Justin Mihaly, appeared to suggest that Vance could have been taking potentially dangerous substances.
In a video posted to Instagram, Mihaly said: “Jodi used two extremely hazardous substances to improve her physique — I assume just for the Arnold Expo — without my knowledge, my approval, without family’s knowledge, their approval.”
Mihaly claimed that many who knew Jodi within the community had blamed him for her death, even revealing that some had sent him death threats, but he insisted that he had tried to convince her to pull back.
He continued: “Many people who love Jodi, including myself, tried to get her to pull off the gas pedal, but anyone who knows Jodi knows how challenging that would be. Her work ethic was second to nobody.”
He described her as a ‘beam of light’.
Before she started competing as a professional bodybuilder, Vance had studied a degree in Sports and Exercise Science at West Texas A&M University and she got engaged to fiancée April Spears just last year.
Tributes to Vance flooded in from around the bodybuilding community over the weekend.
