Grant Wahl and Celine Gounder.Photo: Grant Wahl/instagram
Dr. Céline Gounder, the wife of sports journalistGrant Wahl, says she’s in “complete shock” after hearing the news of hisdeath in Qatar.
Wahl, 48, was covering the Argentina versus Netherlands game at the FIFA World Cup on Friday, when he is reported to have collapsed during the match. A cause of death has not been revealed.
“I am so thankful for the support of my husband @GrantWahl’s soccer family & of so many friends who’ve reached out tonight,” Gounder wrote on Twitter. “I’m in complete shock.”
Gounder’s tweet was in response to a statement from U.S. Soccer on her husband’s death.
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Gounder, an infectious disease expert, physician, and medical journalist — who was previously named one of PEOPLE’s25 Women Changing the Worldin 2017 — married Wahl back in2001. Together they sharetwo dogs — Coco and Zizou.
From November 2020 to January 2021 she also worked on theBiden-Harris Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board,The New York Timesreported.
Grant Wahl/instagram
The pair spoke about how they met during an appearance on ESPN’sThat’s What She Saidpodcast with Sarah Spain in December 2020. “She was a junior, I was a senior,” Wahl said, adding that his future wife was not a fan of sports.
“We were in the same eating club, which is a Princeton thing,” he continued. “It’s basically a co-ed sorority/fraternity-type situation where you eat your meals there. So we got to know each other there. And we did have common interests in current events and movies and food.”
Wahl, whoregularly referredto his wife as “Doc” on social media, wrote on Instagram thatshe proposed to him in 2000in New York City, where they both resided.
In April 2020, Wahl shared a picture of Gounder with their dogs and expressed admiration for her hard work as a medical professional amid the COVID pandemic on her birthday.
“Ours has always been a two-person operation; the income from my job supported what Céline was doing in hers. And we’re incredibly fortunate that at a time when I suddenly don’t have a job or severance, she’s the one who’s able to keep us afloat while still contributing so much to society,” he wrote at the time. “(It also means we’ll have health insurance next month.) Happy birthday, Smiley. I love you.”
source: people.com
