Who is Dr Celine Gounder? Grant Wahl's wife 'SHOCKED' to learn about US journo's death during FIFA World Cup
LUSAIL, QATAR: In one of the most devastating news coming out from the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar, an American journalist named Grant Wahl has died after suffering an apparent heart attack at the Lusail Stadium, where he was covering the quarter-final game between Argentina and the Netherlands on Friday, December 9. He was 48.
The news of his death was confirmed by his brother Eric Wahl on Instagram, who didn’t shy away from saying that he suspects “foul play.” Eric noted that he is the reason he wore the “rainbow shirt” in Qatar because he is “gay”. Grant’s brother also alleged that the Soccer journalist kept on telling him about the death threats he is receiving and that’s why Eric believed that his brother’s death was not natural.
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“My name is Eric Wahl. I live in Seattle, Washington, I am Grant Wahl's brother. 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,” Wahl said in a now-deleted video.
For the uninitiated, Wahl was detained by security staff after he wore a rainbow shirt in USA’s opening game against Wales on November 22. He wore the shirt to show solidarity with the people of the LGBTQ+ community in Qatar because Homosexuality is considered to be illegal in the country. According to the journalist, he was detained for 25 minutes and his phone was “forcibly ripped” from his hands. Since then, fans have been curiously reading his reports and blog posts on Substack. However, they never expected to hear such devastating news and his wife is not able to believe what has happened.
Grant’s wife Celine Gounder is in “shock” and can’t believe that her husband passed away so suddenly. She thanked everyone who reached out and gave her strength.
Grant Wahl and Celine Gounder married each other in 2012 and have been together since. Gounder has been a force to be reckoned with in several fields, including medicine, and has worked in some of the top organizations.
Who is Celine Gounder? US Journalist’s wife worked closely with POTUS while battling the Covid-19 pandemic
Born on April 22, 1977, Gounder was born in the US to a mother from Normandy, France, and a Tamil Indian father. She graduated from Princeton University in 1997 and majored in Bachelor of Arts in molecular biology. That’s where Gounder and Wahl met each other for the first as Wahl used to study at the same university. Wahl used to cover a lot of soccer games when he was in the university and made a career in sports journalism.
Meanwhile, Gounder went on to do her Master’s from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in epidemiology. Gounder continued to study and obtained a Doctor of Medicine degree in 2004 from the University of Washington School of Medicine.
She began her professional journey in 2004 by becoming a resident doctor at the Massachusetts General Hospital. On the other hand, she joined Johns Hopkins University as Research Associate in Infectious Diseases and worked there for more than four years. 2012 saw her becoming the Assistant Commissioner of Health and Director of the Bureau of Tuberculosis Control. Meanwhile, Wahl and Gounder married each other in 2012.
Since then, she has worked with a lot of media outlets like Bloomberg, New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Oprah Winfrey Network, NPR, Washington Post, CBS, BBC, Reuters, Sports Illustrated, Al Jazeera, MSNBC, and more.
After making an impact in the field of medical science for a lot of years, Gounder was named a member of the Covid-19 advisory board of US President Joe Biden.
She has received a plethora of awards for her work in the field of medical science, including the James W. Haviland Award for “outstanding clinical competence and for unusual promise as a leader of medicine in the future.” In 2010, she was awarded the W. Leight Thompson, MD Excellence in Research Award at Johns Hopkins. Meanwhile, in 2017, Gounder was listed in ‘People Magazine's 25 Women Changing the World’ 2017 for her contributions to health care.
Gounder couldn’t believe it when she got to know about her husband’s death in Qatar and shared a statement on her official Twitter account. She wrote, “I am so thankful for the support of my husband @GrantWahl’s soccer family & of so many friends who've reached out tonight. I'm in complete shock.”
I am so thankful for the support of my husband @GrantWahl's soccer family & of so many friends who've reached out tonight.
— Céline Gounder, MD, ScM, FIDSA 🇺🇦 (@celinegounder) December 10, 2022
I'm in complete shock. https://t.co/OB3IzOxGlE
Gounder and Wahl, along with their two dogs, used to live in New York City.
Wahl used to share a lot of pictures of Gounder on his official Instagram account and used to celebrate her accomplishments.
The death of Grant Wahl has sent shockwaves in the sporting and journalism fraternity. A lot of soccer stars and prominent journalists have shared their tributes on social media and praised Wahl for ground-breaking coverage of sports.