I’m a three-time Olympics star and world champion but my day job ‘down in the trenches’ is far more important
OLYMPICS star Aly Bull juggles being a world champion kayaker with her job as a full-time firefighter.
The Australian, 28, is set to compete at her third Olympic Games in Paris this summer.
She is a two-time world champion in the K1 1,000-metre sprint and will be looking to secure her first Olympic medal in the discipline.
Bull has also won world gold in the K2 mixed 500m and will compete alongside Jackson Collins in that event in Paris.
Yet being a three-time world champion has not stopped her from continuing to hold down a day job.
She joined the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service back in 2018 and is still there two Olympic cycles later.
Bull admits it is a hectic juggling act, but is thankful kayak coach Rene Olsen can accommodate her packed schedule.
That includes 4AM sessions out on the water before work as she bids to stay on track for glory in Paris.
Speaking to ABC Australia, she said: “When we’re down in the trenches it’s two day shifts, two night shifts and then four days off.
“I’m very lucky for Rene and how supportive he is to come out on the water with me at 4am on my day shifts.
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“Then he’ll stay late in the mornings after my night shifts and do the sessions with me that the other girls have already done.”
Bull also compared firefighting with kayaking as she admitted there are ways they can help each other.
She added: “Whether they’re sitting in a boat in front or behind you, or whether they’re sitting in the back seat about to go to an incident, you’ve got to fully trust that their skills and capabilities are really up to scratch.
“Whether that’s to help someone out of a car prang using the tools and communicating, or whether it’s paddling together in complete unison to get to the finish line.”