 Pullin in 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Chumpy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 20 September 1987 Mansfield, Victoria, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 8 July 2020 (aged 32) Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) (2014)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 87 kg (192 lb) (2014) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Life partner | Ellidy Pullin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Snowboarding | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | Snowboard Cross Men | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest world ranking | 2nd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Updated on 31 January 2016. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alex Pullin (20 September 1987 – 8 July 2020), nicknamed Chumpy,[2][3] was an Australian snowboarder who competed at the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics.[4] He was a two-time snowboard cross (boardercross) world champion.[2]
Pullin was born on 20 September 1987 in Mansfield, Victoria.[2] He started snowboarding at a young age, and came to prefer snowboard cross, because he considered it "the most pure form of competition".[2] His parents owned a ski hire shop.[5]
Pullin competed for Australia at the 2010 Winter Olympics in snowboard cross (boardercross). He had the fastest qualifying time (1:20.15) in his event,[6] but was eliminated in the first round of competition, finishing in 17th place by virtue of his qualifying time.[7]
Pullin was the flag bearer for the Australian Winter Olympic team at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia,[3][8] and competed in the men's snowboard cross. One of the favourites in that event, Pullin was eliminated in the quarterfinals.[1][9] The Australian government had given Pullin $500,000 in funding for the event, more than any other Australian competitor.[10] At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Pullin again competed in the Men's Snowboard Cross and came in sixth place, having crashed out during the final race.[11] He was the number one ranked competitor in the event according to the world rankings prior to the Games.[12] Fellow Australian Jarryd Hughes came second at the event, but Pullin did not congratulate him due to a personal feud between them.[13]
Aside from the Olympics, Pullin began competing in the Winter X Games in 2008. He won a silver medal in the 2016 event in Aspen, Colorado, United States.[11][14] He won the snowboard cross events at the 2011 and 2013 FIS Snowboarding World Championships,[15] making him the first Australian to defend a Snowboarding World Championships title.[16] Pullin also won the overall snowboard cross title in the 2010–11 FIS Snowboard World Cup and the 2012–13 FIS Snowboard World Cup.[17] In 2011, he won a gold medal at the New Zealand Winter Games.[16]
In 2011, he became an ambassador for Suzuki Australia as part of a sponsorship with the vehicle manufacturer.[18] Outside of snowboarding, Pullin fronted a reggae band called Love Charli.[19]
In 2020, Pullin announced his retirement from the sport.[20]
On 8 July 2020, Pullin drowned on the Gold Coast in Queensland, at the age of 32.[21] He was believed to have been spearfishing by himself at an artificial reef off Palm Beach.[21][22] Pullin's body was spotted on the ocean floor by a snorkeler.[21] Lifeguards attempted to resuscitate him using cardiopulmonary resuscitation for 45–50 minutes, but he did not recover.[21]
On 25 October 2021, fifteen months after Pullin's death, his partner Ellidy Pullin gave birth to their daughter, conceived by in vitro fertilisation.[23]
