Jodi Vance, an American body builder from Texas, is dead at age 20.
‘From Jodi’s family and loved ones: for those that haven’t heard yet, Jodi passed away yesterday afternoon,’ her family posted on her Instagram page Friday. Her heart stopped due to complications of severe dehydration.’
Prior to her death, Vance, from Amarillo, had attended the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus.
She was pronounced dead early Thursday afternoon after paramedics took her to the Grant Medical Center from a hotel near the festival, according to information from the post and The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network.
An Arnold Sports Festival spokesperson said Vance was not a vendor or competitor at the four-day event that ended Sunday.
Her official cause of death remains under investigation pending an autopsy.
‘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 heath first.’
Vance placed third in the Women’s Physique division of the 2024 NPC Battle of Texas.
‘A beam of light’
In a separate Instagram post, Vance’s trainer, Justin Mihaly, said she brought a beam of light to every event and expo.
‘Thank you for keeping Jodi first and to all who have shown an outpouring of love to Jodi and her family,’ Mihaly wrote in a caption with the video.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
