Bodybuilder Jodi Vance has died at the age of 20 after suffering a fatal heart attack last week.
Vance had been attending the Arnold Sports Festival in Ohio to support athletes she coached at the time of her death on February 27.
‘Her heart stopped due to complications of severe dehydration. Despite all efforts by the hospital, they were unable to revive her,’ Vance’s family wrote on social media.
‘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, who didn’t compete at the four-day event in Columbus, reportedly began to feel sick while attending the expo, according to The Fitness Volt. She was reportedly backstage supporting competitors when she started vomiting and exhibiting other dehydration-related symptoms.
She was taken from Sonesta Columbus Downtown hotel to Grant Medical, a local hospital, where she later died, according to TMZ.
Bodybuilder Jodi Vance has died at the age of 20 after suffering a fatal heart attack last week
Vance had been attending the Arnold Sports Festival in Ohio at the time of her death
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.
Despite not being scheduled to compete at an event in the coming months, her coach, Justin Mihaly, appeared to suggest that Vance could have been taking potentially dangerous substances.
‘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 said on video on Instagram.
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.
‘Many people who love Jodi, including myself, tried to get her to pull off the gas pedal,’ he continued. ‘But anyone who knows Jodi knows how challenging that would be. Her work ethic was second to nobody.’
Mihaly went on to honor Vance, describing her as a ‘beam of light.’
‘I believe the beam of light that she brought to every social interaction, networking event, Expo show, should be highlighted,’ he said. ‘The comfort Jodi can make someone feel, the intellect that Jodi carried, the person that she was, the way that she loved, I want to highlight, and I’m going to remember Jodi that way.’
Vance had studied for a degree in Sports and Exercise Science at West Texas A&M University before she started competing as a professional bodybuilder.
She got engaged to fiancée April Spears just last October, sharing the news in a touching Instagram post, describing her partner as a ‘a rare and special person.’
‘Over a year ago, I had no idea how much love would grow between us. As time has passed, something beautiful has blossomed that I never expected but now can’t imagine living without,’ she wrote in a now-heartbreaking caption alongside photos of the couple sharing an intimate moment in a beautiful field on sunflowers.
Tributes to Vance flooded in from around the bodybuilding community over the weekend.
‘I am so sorry to hear this news. I’m so grateful our paths crossed and you will be missed in this community & beyond,’ fellow competitor Maya Soleil Astabie wrote.
‘Wow. I just saw her. Such a bright soul. My condolences to her family,’ IFBB Pro Shaun Clarida said.
‘Jodi my heart is absolutely broken. such a sweet angel,’ another pro, Elenoa McCabe, added.
