The autopsy has revealed that the cause of death of American sports journalist Grant Wahl, who died at the World Cup in Qatar on December 10, was an “ascending aortic aneurysm.”
It has been his wife, Céline Gounder, who has revealed, during an appearance on CBS Mornings, the cause of Wahl’s death. “No CPR or shocks would have saved him. His death was not related to covid. His death was not related to vaccination. There was nothing nefarious in his death,” Gounder explained.
Wahl, 48, died while covering extra time in the Netherlands-Argentina game after collapsing in the Lusail Stadium press box. Paramedics provided him with emergency care for around 30 minutes, before transferring him to a local hospital.
The journalist’s body and belongings were transferred last Monday to New York City, where an autopsy was performed at the city’s coroner’s office. The result is that he died of an “ascending aortic aneurysm.” This cardiovascular accident consists of the dilation of this artery, mainly due to arteriosclerosis. When this dilation occurs, the wall of the aorta weakens and the pressure inside it generates an expansion that can cause it to rupture. A high percentage of patients are asymptomatic, although it is potentially fatal.
Wahl had been feeling ill in Qatar before his death. A week before he passed away, he wrote that he had visited a clinic twice and the staff believed that he had bronchitis. “My body finally broke down,” Wahl wrote. “Three weeks of little sleep, high stress and a lot of work can do that… What had been a cold for the last ten days turned into something more severe the night of the USA-Netherlands game, and I was feeling in the upper chest pressure and discomfort. He was prescribed antibiotics and the journalist assured that he was better.
His brother, Eric Wahl, assured on the NPR radio station that Grant had received death threats in this World Cup for wearing a rainbow shirt in support of the rights of the LGTBI community and also for the continuous critical reports of Grant about FIFA and about how the Qataris had taken over the tournament. He later retracted his suspicions that he was murdered and explained that he trusted the US government to help him get answers about the cause of his brother’s death.
Wahl is one of three journalists who have died while covering the World Cup since it began on November 20. The first was ITV sports director Roger Pearce, who “suddenly passed away” last month at his hotel. The most recent has been the Qatari photojournalist Khalid al Misslam, who “died suddenly” last weekend.
During the Argentina-Croatia semi-final, FIFA placed commemorative flowers, photos of the three journalists and condolence books inside the Lusail Stadium press center.
