US sports journalist Grant Wahl died after suffering an aortic aneurysm, his wife Céline Gounder confirmed on Wednesday, ruling out suspicion of any wrongdoing. Gounder took to Wahl’s website where she posted a note, revealing the cause of death and showing gratitude to the authorities involved in repatriating her husband’s body back to the United States.
“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. No amount of CPR or shocks would have saved him.”
She added that the death was unrelated to Covid, vaccination status and that there was nothing ‘nefarious’ about it.
Notably, Wahl collapsed last Friday while covering the World Cup quarterfinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands. He was seated in the press box at Lusail Stadium when he died during extra time of the game.
Wahl had been briefly arrested by the Qatari authorities at the beginning of the World Cup for wearing a rainbow T-shirt to protest the criminalisation of homosexuality in the country.
At the time, many attributed that Qatari authorities might have something to do with Wahl’s sudden death. Grant’s brother Eric in a video posted on Instagram alleged that he may have been killed.
“I am gay, I am the reason he wore the rainbow shirt to the World Cup. My brother was healthy, he told me he received death threats. I do not believe my brother just died. I believe he was killed, and I just beg for any help.”
Prior to the death, Wahl in his blog wrote he had visited a medical clinic in Qatar due to high stress.
“My body finally broke down on me. Three weeks of little sleep, high stress and lots of work can do that to you. What had been a cold over the last 10 days turned into something more severe on the night of the USA-Netherlands game, and I could feel my upper chest take on a new level of pressure and discomfort,” he wrote.
(With inputs from agencies)
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