Olympian’s biggest hurdle to making surf series
TOKYO Olympian Aly Bull will join a field of 140 hopefuls at Tugun this weekend vying for one of 14 available spots in January’s Nutri-grain Iron Series.
Entering her 21st year with Sunshine Coast club Alexandra Headland, the 26-year-old enters a stacked women’s qualifying field that includes three-time champion Courtney Hancock and 2017-18 winner, Brielle Cooper.
But Bull’s biggest barrier to make the series might not even be her rivals, rather a rostering debacle that could force her to miss Sunday’s finals entirely.
“I work as a firefighter and I’m actually still on shift to work Sunday,” Bull revealed to News Corp.
“I’m not sure what I’m going to be able to do at this point. My main goal is to go out on Saturday, produce some good results and just enjoy it.”
Bull, a two-time Olympian, is a former Under-17 Australian Ironwoman champion and last competed in the Ironwoman Series in 2012-14, before shifting her focus to kayak.
But with Tokyo in her rear-view Bull has taken the opportunity to reacquaint herself with her surf lifesaving roots.
In November she was an overnight entrant for the Coolangatta Gold long course, where she led the field after the ski leg and finished a respectable fourth among a small but stacked field.
Last weekend Bull and her clubmates upset Aussies club champions Northcliffe to win the mixed taplin relay in the Summer of Surf event at Alex Heads.
She has the recent runs on the board and dedication to make a long-awaited series comeback.
“I absolutely want to get back involved,” Bull said.
“The main iron race I wanted to do was on the one on the weekend just gone (at Alex Heads). I hadn’t raced an iron since 2014, and it was my grassroots and what I grew up doing. I have some time between the Olympics so I figured I would have a bit of fun doing it and keeping fit.”
The question now is not Bull’s ability or commitment, rather whether she will be able to line up at Tugun on Sunday, should she make the finals of the qualifiers.
“I’ve asked a few mates but unfortunately if no one is there to sit in the fire truck you have to go and do it – you can’t just take a sickie,” she said.
“It’s a tough situation. With Christmas around the corner and being a shift worker, I completely understand when people have planned to celebrate Christmas this weekend. This is the first time I’ve ever had Christmas off since I joined (the fireys). I feel them.”