© 2026 ABC News

Pullin, who was Australia's flagbearer at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, was 32 when he died in July 2020 off the coast of Queensland.

\"PHOTO:
Mathias Mandl/Sipa via AP, FILE
PHOTO: In this Feb. 14, 2018, file photo, Alex Pullin competes in the snowboard cross competition at the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.
>

In June of this year, Vlug shared on Instagram that she was pregnant with their child via in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Vlug told \"GMA\" she and Pullin had been trying to become pregnant before he passed away.

\"Of course I was hoping I'd be pregnant the month he passed away and when I wasn't, I just held onto the frozen hope that we had,\" she said. \"I gave myself time to somewhat process the tragedy, and after undergoing mandatory counselling I felt ready to tackle the solo IVF mission. I felt this was now my purpose and something to live for.\"

\"PHOTO:
Alex Wong/AP, FILE
PHOTO: In this Feb. 17, 2014, file photo, Australia's Alex Pullin hugs his girlfriend Ellidy Vlug prior to a men's snowboard cross competition at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.
>

Vlug said she became pregnant on her second round of IVF, in February 2021.

She shared the last months of her pregnancy journey on social media, describing how her friends supported her as she both mourned Pullin and prepared on her own to become a mom.

\"My friends literally deserve a medal for the way they have shown up for me the past year,\" Vlug wrote in an Oct. 14 post, later adding, \"I feel so grateful and lucky to be bringing Chumpy's daughter or son into this love bubble.\"

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Wellness/olympians-widow-birth-daughter-ivf/story?id=80902213","legacySlug":"/wellness/story/olympians-widow-birth-daughter-ivf-80902213","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"21:29","publishDate":"11-03-2021","updatedTime":"21:36","updatedDate":"11-03-2021","socialImage":{"alt":"In this Feb. 17, 2014, file photo, Australia's Alex Pullin hugs his girlfriend Ellidy Vlug prior to a men's snowboard cross competition at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.","credit":"Alex Wong/AP, FILE","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/alex-pullin-ellidy-vlug-main-ap-jt-211101_1635787076558_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"11/3/2021 21:29:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":80902213,"headline":"Olympian’s widow gives birth to daughter via IVF","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_OLYMPIAN WIDOW IVF_211101","description":"Australian snowboarder Alex Pullin died in a spearfishing accident in July 2020.","duration":"1:28","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2026/06/260612_abcnl_headlines_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["60937743","59897279","70638555"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"February 8, 2019","headline":"IVF coverage by employers on the rise? How to know what your company offers","section":"wellness","slug":"/wellness/story/ivf-coverage-employers-rise-company-offers-60937743","id":60937743,"image":{"alt":"IVF coverage by employers on the rise? How to know what your company offers","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/190209_gma_jarvis_hpMain_1x1_240.jpg","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"December 19, 2018","headline":"Nonprofit foundation gives IVF grants to couples struggling with infertility ","section":"wellness","slug":"/wellness/story/nonprofit-foundation-grants-ivf-couples-struggling-infertility-59897279","id":59897279,"image":{"alt":"Nonprofit foundation gives IVF grants to couples struggling with infertility ","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/ivf2-abc-ml-181219_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"ABC News","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"May 12, 2020","headline":"After coronavirus puts IVF on hold, couple answers call to adopt preemie","section":"family","slug":"/family/story/coronavirus-puts-ivf-hold-couple-answers-call-adopt-70638555","id":70638555,"image":{"alt":"After coronavirus puts IVF on hold, couple answers call to adopt preemie","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/coronavirus-puts-ivf-hold-couple-adopts-ht-MAIN-np-200512_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Nicole and Andrew Osterhout","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Olympian’s widow gives birth to daughter via IVF","description":"Australian snowboarder Alex Pullin died in a spearfishing accident in July 2020.","duration":"1:28","uploadDate":"11-03-2021","publication":"11-03-2021","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2026/06/260612_abcnl_headlines_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2026/06/260612_abcnl_headlines_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/wellness/story/olympians-widow-birth-daughter-ivf-80902213"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133810954","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133779647","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133810835","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133749799","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133777519","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133748258","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133730535","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133712423","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133694181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133688738","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616358","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616342","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133522899","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133584123","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133579397","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133482839","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133390157","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133415361","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133414032","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133380485","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:wellness:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"wellness","title":"Olympian’s widow gives birth to daughter via IVF","pubTime":"17:29","pubDate":"11-03-2021","modTime":"17:36","modDate":"11-03-2021","taxonomyTags":"none","id":80902213,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Olympian’s widow gives birth to daughter via IVF","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_OLYMPIAN WIDOW IVF_211101","videoId":80902213,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/wellness/story/olympians-widow-birth-daughter-ivf-80902213"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/80902213","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/80902213","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};