Sparta man with Olympic fever to see over 30 events

PARIS (WOOD) — A Sparta, Michigan, native traveled over 10,000 miles to see the Olympic Games in Paris.

“I’m incredibly excited that the Olympics are back. I’m excited to be here in Paris,” Brad Bultman said.

It’s safe to say, Bultman has a serious case of Olympic fever.

This isn’t his first time at the Games: News 8 caught up with him in Rio eight years ago . He was all set for Tokyo in 2020, but COVID-19 spoiled his plans .

“I had tickets to 25-plus events there. The absolute time of my life that I’ve had was at the Rio Olympics. Seeing Michael Phelps win several golds, seeing USA Basketball win gold. And I wanted to be able to redo that experience at least once more in my life. Tokyo, wasn’t it?” he said.

So he used the money he was refunded and started planning for Paris.

Between travel, lodging and tickets to over 30 events, this Olympic experience will cost him around $25,000.

“No, it’s definitely not a cheap trip,” Bultman said.

No, it’s not, but spending money on traveling is his way of life. Bultman has one of the worst cases of wanderlust you’ll ever see. Since he moved from Michigan to Australia, he’s visited 126 countries, all seven continents and the seven wonders of the world.

“So pretty much dating back to 2014 when I first moved overseas. So that’s now 10-plus years ago. I would work eight, nine months of the year and then I would travel the other few months of the year. So work hard, play hard,” he said.

When he started this adventure, people questioned if he was running from something. On the contrary, Bultman said that he’s been chasing and living his dream. Below the tattooed Olympic rings on his wrist, it says, “Not all who wander are lost.”

He’s not sure how much longer he’ll be living this lifestyle, but he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

“I have absolutely zero regrets. I’ve already achieved well beyond my childhood dreams,” he said.

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