An aortic aneurysm caused the death of Grant Wahl, an American sports journalist who collapsed to death last week while covering a World Cup match in Qatar, his widow said on Wednesday.
“Grant died of a ruptured, undetected, slow-growing ascending aortic aneurysm with hemopericardium,” his widow, physician Celine Gounder, wrote in a statement.
An aneurysm is a balloon-like bulge in the aorta, the large artery that carries blood from the heart through the chest and trunk, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
“First of all, on behalf of myself and our family, I want to express our deepest gratitude for the support, love and sympathy from around the world,” Gounder wrote.
Wahl, 48, a former Sports Illustrated writer who moved to online publishing platform Substack, was tweeting about the Netherlands-Argentina match on Friday when he collapsed.
His agent had previously told Reuters that Wahl appeared to have suffered some kind of acute stress during the quarter-final match. Attempts were made to revive Wahl in the press box before he was taken to a hospital, where he was presumed dead.
“No amount of CPR or defibrillators would have saved him,” Gounder said.
Wahl wrote earlier last week that he visited a hospital while in Qatar and that health officials said he likely had bronchitis.
His body was flown back to the United States on Monday, where the New York City Medical Examiner’s office performed an autopsy.
“While the world knew Grant as a great journalist, we knew him as a man who approached the world with openness and love,” wrote Gounder. “Grant was an incredibly empathetic, dedicated and loving husband, brother, uncle and son who was our biggest teammate and fan. We will always cherish his gift of life.”
In late November, Wahl made news when he wrote that he was stopped at a World Cup stadium security screening point when he tried to enter a match wearing a rainbow shirt in support of the LGBTQ community. He said security asked him to remove his shirt. Same-sex relationships are illegal in Qatar.
Funeral services for Wahl are still being planned, his widow said.
As a seasoned news journalist, I bring a wealth of experience to the field. I’ve worked with world-renowned news organizations, honing my skills as a writer and reporter. Currently, I write for the sports section at News Bulletin 247, where I bring a unique perspective to every story.
