Grant Wahl Dies at World Cup After Collapsing at Argentina Game

Wahl was in the midst of his eighth World Cup, with an aggressive schedule of reporting and appearances.

Wahl’s wife, Dr. Celine Gounder, also confirmed the death in a post on Twitter.

Wahl, 48, began his professional journalism career in 1996, at Sports Illustrated, where he worked for 24 years. He initially covered both college basketball and soccer — he wrote a famed 2002 Sports Illustrated cover story on LeBron James, who was then a junior in high school — but over the next two decades transitioned exclusively to soccer, attending and writing about each World Cup, growing in prominence as the sport grew in the United States.

“Grant’s passion for soccer and commitment to elevating its profile across our sporting landscape played a major role in helping to drive interest in and respect for our beautiful game,” the United States Soccer Federation said in a statement Friday night. Don Garber, the commissioner of Major League Soccer, wrote that Wahl “was a kind and caring person whose passion for soccer and dedication to journalism were immeasurable.”

In recent days, Wahl wrote about struggles with his health during a run of coverage that, he said, typically left room for about five hours of sleep a night.

“My body finally broke down on me,” he wrote on Monday. “Three weeks of little sleep, high stress and lots of work can do that to you.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/09/sports/soccer/grant-wahl-dead.html