Partner of Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin reveals last words to snowboarding legend
The long-time partner of Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin has revealed the joy of their last year together, sharing her final conversation with the popular Olympian before his death while diving this week.
QLD News
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THE long-time partner of Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin has revealed her last words to him soon before he died while spear fishing off the Gold Coast on Wednesday.
Ellidy Vlug, who had built a life with Pullin and their one-year-old kelpie Rummi on the Gold Coast, revealed she last saw her boyfriend moments before he went for a dive, telling him “Love you, watch out for sharks”.
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It comes as more details have emerged of the chilling way in which Ms Vlug learned of Pullin’s heartbreaking death.
“When he told me he’d decided to go for a dive, I was just like “epic, love you, watch out for sharks’’,’ Ms Vlug was quoted as saying in The Daily Mail.
“I always say that.
“He was a family man through and through. Me, and his sister and parents and Rummi were his world.
”I don’t know what I’m going to do without him.”
The couple purchased their dream home on the Gold Coast in 2018 and planned for it to be their forever home where they would one day raise a family.
”We’ve always been happy, but we’ve just been the happiest people this past year,” she said.
She described Pullin – a former world champion and Olympic snowboarder – as a “jack of all trades” given his love of surfing and music.
‘He pursued snowboarding, which was amazing, but he was a jack of all trades … I can’t name a skill he couldn’t do. He would research and practice and be a pro at whatever he wanted to within a day,” she was quoted as saying in the Daily Mail.
‘He’s just so talented and I can’t believe he is no longer here’.
Meanwhile, more details have emerged of the chilling way in which Ms Vlug learned of Pullin’s heartbreaking death on Wednesday.
Posting social media pictures of her partner and teenage son spearfishing with Pullin, neighbour Belinda Anderson revealed that on the morning of the Olympian’s death, he talked to her about his plans to go spearing that day.
“Being a World Champion, Olympian and love of life, he was always adventuring and appreciating nature,” Ms Anderson posted on Instagram.
“A couple of hours later in a local Facebook group there was a post asking if anyone knows a man in his 30s who was diving at Palm Beach Reef as someone had been found unconscious and not breathing. I immediately went over to my neighbour’s house and showed his partner (Ms Vlug) the message as I knew he was out there.”
Ms Vlug is believed to have then rushed to the beach to be confronted by the terrible news.
“The world lost an amazing human today who was loved and admired by many,” Ms Anderson posted.
“Alex Chumpy Pullin passed away doing what he loved. You would never known he had achieved what he had he was so humble, so down to earth, and so selfless.
“The boys loved their adventures with him and I enjoyed our insightful chats. I always walked away feeling inspired by his wisdom and outlook on life.
“He will be missed by so many from all over the world. All our love to El, (dog) Rumi and family … this terrible tragedy makes no sense.”
Gold Coast police chief superintendent Mark Wheeler said police were investigating the circumstances of Pullin’s death and would prepare a report for the Coroner.
“In any investigation into any death, of course we want to determine why it happened, whether there were underlying medical conditions, whether there’s been a miscalculation by someone or something,” he said.
“What we want to do is give closure to the family – give the family answers – and also, really importantly, see if there’s anything systemic to prevent this from happening again.”