‘I took my dead boyfriend’s sperm 24 hours AFTER he died and now I’m having his baby a year later’

A TRAGIC Winter Olympian's girlfriend is pregnant following a desperate battle to retrieve his sperm after his death last year.

Snowboarder Alex 'Chumpy' Pullin died in July 2020 aged 32 while spearfishing on Australia's Gold Coast.

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He had been with Ellidy Vlug for eight years before his death, and doctors managed to retrieve healthy sperm from his body.

And nearly a year on, his girlfriend Ellidy has confirmed her pregnancy.

She wrote on Instagram: “Bubba Chump coming this October. Your Dad and I have been dreaming of you for years, little one.

“With a heart-wrenching plot twist in the middle, I am honoured to finally welcome a piece of the phenomenon that is Chumpy back into this world!

“When my love had his accident, we all held on to hope that I’d be pregnant that month. We’d been trying for a baby.

“IVF was on our cards but it wasn’t something I ever imagined I’d be tackling on my own. Bittersweet like none other, I’ve never been more certain or excited about anything in my entire life.”

Alex competed in three Winter Olympics and won two snowboard cross world championship medals during his career.

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Ellidy told “In the weeks after (his death) I had hoped to god that I was pregnant. I just prayed for this little miracle. Everyone knew we were trying so hard for a baby and had been trying for ages and were starting to talk about IVF.

“Luckily the days after - we’re going to talk about sperm retrieval. Up until 36 hours, I think the legislation is in Queensland, you can actually retrieve sperm from a deceased’s person’s body.

“We were able to hustle - Chumpy’s parents were in town, everyone was signing court documents, legal documents and dealing with the coroners and the lawyers and the doctors.

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“I can’t even believe I’m telling this story."

She added: “It’s the most bittersweet thing in the world and it’s a complete emotional rollercoaster but this is my greatest gift.

“It didn’t unravel the way we planned, life is literally crazy, but we’re having our baby. It’s so unreal and so emotional.”