Why late Alex “Chumpy” Pullin’s Olympic legacy will never be forgotten
“An absolute tragedy”. Alex Pullin’s junior mentor has reacted to the two-time world snowboarding champion’s death.
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SNOWBOARDER Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin may be dead but former mentor David Thorpe says his Olympic legacy will forever live on in generations to come.
Pullin tragically died on Wednesday, drowning while spear fishing off 19th Ave at Palm Beach.
The 32-year-old is believe to have suffered a shallow water blackout just after 10.30am.
Thorpe, a former professional snowboarder living on the Gold Coast since 2004, mentored Pullin as a junior in Victoria before the beloved athlete went on to win two world snowboard cross titles and become the flag bearer for Australia at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games in Russia.
A shocked Thorpe said Pullin’s death was a tragedy.
“It’s terrible,” Thorpe, 47, said.
“He loved his career and loved his music, loved life, loved being outside and around the ocean.
“He did a lot of guest and motivational speaking, he had a great story to tell and he was full of life. He was the epitome of a snowboarder.
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“Alex was a great character and a good competitor. He was also passing on his knowledge to the next generation which was cool to see. It’s a tragic day.
“He had really fallen in love with the Gold Coast. He wanted to build a life here.”
Thorpe first met Pullin, who grew up in Mansfield, Victoria, when the latter was 14 at Mount Buller and instantly knew he was something special.
“I was competing and coaching back then and I just watched him ride,” Thorpe said.
“That is where I first saw him as a bit of a rising star.
“He came to a few camps and over the years I watched him pave his way as a snowboarder.
“He was fast. And that is why he was the first Australian to be a world champion in boarder cross. He was cool under fire.”
Thorpe said Pullin was part of a generation that put the sport on the map and enabled it to succeed on the Olympic stage.
“Alex’s generation paved the way for the sport to be in the Olympics and made if professional, really.
“They turned the chapter in downhill snowboarding and boarder cross. They prepared the sport for the Olympics.
”That will be his legacy. He paved the way for so many young Australians to fall in love with snowboarding and he was a real professional.”
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Retired international swimmer and Gold Coast resident Brooke Hanson said the Olympic fraternity had lost a family member.
“It’s just heartbreaking,” Hanson said.
“We are part of a special family and a special club and personally my heart goes out to all of his friends and family because we have just lost an Olympian and a great Aussie bloke who has been taken way to soon.
while doing something he loves that so many of us on the coast do. We are always out there “He was a character and a dare devil who loved what he did. I would be in awe of how talented he was but also how passionate he was about his sport.
“He was someone everyone wanted to watch and know so much more about. Those athletes live their life to the fullest and that is what I took so much inspiration from.”
Pullin was a Red Bull sponsored athlete and often did training camps with a diverse range of athletes from a host of sports like surfer Mick Fanning, triathlete and runner Courtney Atkinson, ironman Matt Poole, Dakar Rally champion Toby Price, Supercars driver Jamie Whincup and many more.
Red Bull closed ranks around their athletes on Wednesday, requesting they don’t speak to media during this time.
Close friend Price posted his heartache on Twitter.
“Seriously lost for words right now, Alex, you were a guy that lived life to the fullest and achieved so much in 32 years,” Price said.
“You will be seriously missed by so many. My thoughts and condolences go to family and friends! You will always be with us mate.”
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