The sports journalist died at the age of 48.
Grant Wahl’s cause of death has been confirmed. In a new statement, his wife, Dr. Céline Gounder, confirmed the sports journalist died of an aortic aneurysm while in Qatar, covering the World Cup.
"Grant died from the rupture of a slowly growing, undetected ascending aortic aneurysm with hemopericardium,” Gounder wrote in a post on Wahl's Substack page. "The chest pressure he experienced shortly before his death may have represented the initial symptoms. No amount of CPR or shocks would have saved him. His death was unrelated to COVID. His death was unrelated to vaccination status. There was nothing nefarious about his death."
Gounder went on to add about her husband. "While the world knew Grant as a great journalist, we knew him as a man who approached the world with openness and love," she wrote. "Grant was an incredibly empathetic, dedicated, and loving husband, brother, uncle, and son who was our greatest teammate and fan."
Grounder’s message continued, "We will forever cherish the gift of his life; to share his company was our greatest love and source of joy. Grant curated friends from all cultures and walks of life, for whom he was a generous listener, an enthusiast, a champion of others. To know Grant was to know a true renaissance man; he was endlessly curious about the world, and a lover of literature, art, music, food, and wine. He was equally in his element cooking a quiet dinner of sole provencal for two, walking his beloved Zizou and Coco through Manhattan, gathering friends for a raucous dinner party, and traipsing across Moldova chasing a story."
Wahl died at the age of 48 on Saturday. According to multiple reports, the former Sports Illustrated senior writer was in the press box covering the final minutes of the quarterfinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands at Lusail Iconic Stadium when he suddenly collapsed. Wahl's agent, Tim Scanlan, told the New York Times Wahl went into "acute distress."
On Wednesday, Grant’s wife also appeared on CBS Mornings, where she spoke to Gayle King about her husband’s legacy.
"To know that he was so loved by so many people makes me feel less alone," she said. "It feels like a warm hug when you really need it at a moment like this."
During the interview, Gounder also clarified that there was no foul play in the death of her husband, which was confirmed by the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office.
Above all, she doesn't want the public to forget who Wahl was a person and his impact. "I want people to remember him as this kind, generous person who was really dedicated to social justice," Gounder said. "I think that was another aspect of soccer that was really important to him, promoting the women’s game. The recent statements he had made about LGBTQ rights. That was Grant."
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