Sports journalist Grant Wahl died from aortic aneurysm

(CNN NEWSOURCE) — The widow of sports journalist Grant Wahl says he died from an aortic aneurysm that ruptured.

The 49-year-old died last Friday after collapsing while covering the world cup in Qatar.

The circumstances around his death are still unclear. But his widow Dr. Celine Gounder is remembering her husband and speaking out.

“I think for him, soccer was more than just a sport. It was this thing that connected people around the world. There’s so much about the culture, the politics of sport, of soccer; to him, it was a way of really understanding people and where they were coming from,” she said. “I want people to remember him as this kind, generous person who was really dedicated to social justice. You know, I think that’s another aspect of soccer that was really important to him, that, you know, promoting the women’s game. The recent statements he had made about LGBT rights. That was Grant, that was Grant.”

So he 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.”

Which means what?

“So that’s the big blood vessel that comes out of your heart, sort of the trunk of all the blood vessels. And an aneurysm is a ballooning of the blood vessel wall. And so it’s weak and 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,” Dr. Gounder said.

U.S. State Department officials said Monday they haven’t seen any indication of foul play in connection to his death.