Our thoughts go out to the family of two-time world champion snowboarder Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin.
The 32-year-old drowned while spearfishing on the Gold Coast on Wednesday afternoon.
According to The Courier Mail, Chumpy suffered a shallow water blackout. He was found unresponsive on the ocean floor by a fisherman who flagged a nearby surfer to raise the alarm. He was then transported back to shore by jet ski where lifeguards attempted to revive him. Paramedics then took over and performed CPR for 45 minutes.
As one of Australia’s most popular winter athletes, he repped the green and gold at three Olympic Games and was the flag bearer at Sochi in 2014. He made the finals for the men’s snowboarding cross event at the 2018 Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Tributes from friends and fans have begun pouring in on Twitter.
