Hannah Rapp died Saturday morning in Brazos County, Texas after a driver struck her while she was riding her bicycle along FM 159. She was 26 years old.
The Brazos County Sheriff's Office said driver Charles Medina, 31, passed Rapp and her boyfriend on the road, then suddenly stopped his car, reversed at speed and struck her. Rapp's head hit the rear window of Medina's vehicle.
She was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead. Medina was arrested and charged with manslaughter and is being held at the Brazos County Detention Center.
Rapp was a native of Yorktown, Indiana who competed as a track athlete at Purdue before transitioning to boxing.
She turned professional in 2024 after relocating to College Station, Texas, where she worked full-time as a fire and life safety inspector at Texas A&M, training for fights around a day job in a way that defined the scrappy, earnest quality the boxing community is mourning now.
Just last month, she challenged Tiara Brown for the WBC women's featherweight championship at Most Valuable Promotions' fourth event.
She lost by unanimous decision, but the performance she put in was the kind that made people take notice. Brown herself commented on a tribute post this week calling Rapp "the best dance partner I have ever faced as a pro."
"The loss of Hannah Rapp leaves us heartbroken," WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said. "She was an exceptional boxer, but above all, an invaluable member of our boxing family."
She was 26 years old.