Bodybuilder Jodi Vance’s family and trainer are speaking out after she died at age 20.
“For those that haven’t heard yet, Jodi passed away yesterday afternoon. Her heart stopped due to complications of severe dehydration,” her family announced in a statement via Instagram on Friday, February 28. “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.”
The statement concluded, “Please give her family time to process this loss in peace. If anyone takes anything from this, please put your heath first.”
Two days before her death, Vance uploaded a photo from The Pro’s Gym in Columbus, Ohio. She showed off her muscles, flexing her arm in the image ahead of the Arnold Sports Festival. According to TMZ, Vance was not competing at the event but was there as a coach to support athletes that she trained.
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Justin Mihaly, Vance’s fitness coach, spoke out about her death on Saturday, March 1, in a five-minute Instagram video.
“Now that the family and I have spoken, it’s the appropriate time to make a statement covering all aspects of what transpired the last few days that tragically took Jodi’s life far too soon,” Mihaly said, describing the grief he felt after Vance’s death.
While highlighting the best parts of her personality, Mihaly also said that Vance made a “significant error” in her training process.
“We want to make sure this never happens again,” he continued. “Jodi used two extremely hazardous substances to improve her physique — I assume just for the Arnold Expo — without my knowledge [or] my approval.”
Because she was not competing, Mihaly said there was “no reason” that Vance should have been dehydrated.
“Recently, [her] health had become quite concerning, and now we know why. Now we have the answers,” he continued. “Many people who loved Jodi, including myself, tried to get her to pull off the gas pedal. … Her work ethic was actually second to nobody. It was so hard getting her to pull back.”
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Mihaly explained that Vance had “expressed interest” in using a certain drug before her death. He claimed that Vance had an “insanely high” potassium rating when she was taken to the hospital.
“I did not see it firsthand, this is what I was told. We do know that she had access to these things. We now know that it was being used,” he continued, explaining that Vance paired a diuretic with a fat-burning drug. “It had some poor downstream effects.”
Mihaly noted in his Instagram caption that his video was posted “with support and approval” from Vance’s mom. “Thank you for keeping Jodi first and to all who have shown an outpouring of love to Jodi and her family,” he added.
