U.S. journalist Grant Wahl has been reported dead in the early hours of Saturday while covering the World Cup game between Argentina and the Netherlands which eventually ended in a penalty shoot-out. A colleague who sat close to him said Wahl fell while they were observing the game. He further said that noticing Wahl’s struggles, the medical team was immediately summoned, but unfortunately, he died.
This year’s World Cup was the 8th time he has attended a World Cup edition. The 49-year- old on Monday tweeted that he visited the hospital for a medical check-up.
“My body finally broke down on me. Three weeks of little sleep, high stress, and lots of work can do that to you,” Wahl wrote. “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.”
“I went into the medical clinic at the main media center today, and they said I probably have bronchitis. They gave me a course of antibiotics and some heavy-duty cough syrup, and I’m already feeling a bit better just a few hours later. But still: No Bueno,” he wrote.
According to Fox Sports, Wahl wrote this week that he had been among 82 journalists honored by FIFA and the international sports press association AIPS for attending eight or more World Cups.
He is survived by his wife, Dr. Céline Gounder, clinical associate professor of medicine at New York University School of Medicine, attending physician at Bellevue Hospital Center, and CBS News medical news contributor.
