U.S. Soccer Reporter Grant Wahl Died of an Aortic Aneurysm, Says Wife

American soccer journalist Grant Wahl died of an aortic aneurysm that ruptured while in Qatar covering the World Cup.

Wahl’s wife Dr. Celine Gounder told CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King during her first TV interview since Wahl’s sudden death. “He (Wahl) had an autopsy done here in New York by the New York City medical examiner’s office, and it showed that he had an aortic aneurysm that ruptured,” Gounder, an infectious disease specialist and a CBS News contributor, told the morning program.

“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,” she added about the slow-growing, undetected condition that caused Wahl’s death. In a separate post on Wahl’s Substack page, Gounder sought to put to rest speculation around her husband’s death following events in Qatar.

“His death was unrelated to COVID. His death was unrelated to vaccination status. There was nothing nefarious about his death,” she wrote. Wahl, who had garnered a reputation as one of the country’s most established soccer journalists, was reporting on the World Cup for his Substack and serving as an analyst for CBS Sports.

On his Substack, Wahl earlier reported that he went to a local medical center after feeling unwell. Last Friday, Wahl collapsed in the stadium press room while covering the quarterfinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands, and paramedics were unable to revive him. 

Gounder during her CBS appearance recounted her shock at the sudden passing of her husband. “I kept on asking: did he have a pulse? If he had a pulse when he left the stadium that would have been a good sign, but no one would answer the question. And so, to me, I was scared,” she recalled to King.

Gounder added the subsequent outpouring by the soccer community over Wahl’s death had brought immense comfort. “To know that he was loved by so many people makes me feel a little less alone. It’s like a warm hug when you really need it,” she insisted.

Watch Gounder’s appearance on CBS Mornings below.