Grant Wahl’s wife reveals cause of sudden death while covering the World Cup
“To know that he was loved by so many people makes me feel a little less alone,” his wife, Dr. Céline Gounder, said Wednesday.
Journalist Grant Wahl’s death last week while covering the World Cup in Qatar shocked the soccer community, which is still mourning the loss of the sport’s preeminent writer in the U.S.
Wahl, 49, died from an aortic aneurysm, his wife, Dr. Céline Gounder, revealed on Wednesday morning in a post shared on Wahl’s newsletter.
“Grant died from the rupture of a slowly growing, undetected ascending aortic aneurysm with hemopericardium. The chest pressure he experienced shortly before his death may have represented the initial symptoms,” Gounder wrote. “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.”
An aortic aneurysm happens when a bulge in the aorta — the artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body — dissects or ruptures, which can cause life-threatening bleeding, according to Suyog Mokashi, the director of the Aortic Surgery Program at Temple University Hospital.
Mokashi said about 95% of aortic aneurysms aren’t preceded by any symptoms, and once a dissection or rupture happens, the only treatment is emergency surgery. Maintaining a normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels are the best way to keep both the aorta and the heart healthy, Mokashi said.
“If you know you have a family history, make sure you’re getting screened and your aorta is being monitored by a heart specialist,” Mokashi suggested.
Wahl was covering a World Cup match between Argentina and the Netherlands when he fell back in his seat at Lusail Stadium. Journalists called for assistance, and emergency services workers treated him on site before taking him out on a stretcher, according to reporters at the scene.
Wahl was taken to Doha’s Hamad General Hospital, where he died. Gounder wrote that Wahl’s body arrived home on Monday, and an autopsy was performed by the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office.
“It’s just one of these things that had been likely brewing for years, and for whatever reason it happened at this point in time,” Gounder said in an interview on CBS Mornings Wednesday.
Gounder said a memorial service to celebrate Wahl’s life is being planned, and details will be announced soon.
Wahl wrote for Sports Illustrated for more than two decades, where he grew into the most prominent voice covering soccer in the U.S. In recent years, he has written for his own website, where he has not been afraid to offer a critical analysis of teams or the sport’s organization bodies. Just before his death, he had written a story critical of the Qatar government’s apparent apathy over the deaths of migrant workers.
Meanwhile, the tributes to Wahl keep pouring in. Inquirer columnist Mike Jensen, who knew Wahl for almost 25 years, wrote that he “was a great journalist and storyteller who happened to be a sportswriter and happened to choose soccer as his focus.” Inquirer soccer reporter Jonathan Tannenwald credited Wahl with championing his soccer writing more than a decade ago.
“To know that he was loved by so many people makes me feel a little less alone,” Gounder said. “It’s like a warm hug when you really need it.”
This article contains information from the Associated Press.