Jeremy Bloom

Jeremy Bloom (born April 2, 1982) is an American professional skier. He is a three-time world champion, two-time Olympian, and 11-time World Cup gold medalist. He became the youngest freestyle skier in history to be inducted into the United States Skiing Hall of Fame in 2013.[1] He won a record six straight World Cup events, the most in a single season in the sport's history until Mikael Kingsbury won seven straight events in a single season, twice, and 13 straight events over two seasons.

Jeremy Bloom
Jeremy Bloom in 2016.
Born (1982-04-02) April 2, 1982
Loveland, Colorado
NationalityAmerican
RelativesMolly Bloom (sister)
Colby Cohen (cousin)

As a football player, Bloom was an All-American at the University of Colorado Boulder and appeared on the practice squad for both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Personal life

Bloom was born in Loveland, Colorado, the son of Charlene, a ski and fly fishing instructor, and Larry Bloom, a clinical psychologist.[2] His older sister, Molly Bloom, ran an underground poker ring and is played by Jessica Chastain in the film Molly's Game, with Kevin Costner playing their father.[3] His cousin is ice hockey player Colby Cohen.[4] Bloom's father is Jewish, whereas his mother is Christian.[5]

Bloom helped lead both his football and track teams to state championships. In his freshman year, Bloom played quarterback and defensive back. He switched to receiver in his sophomore year and played on the junior varsity football team. He accepted a full scholarship to play college football at the University of Colorado Boulder. As a track athlete, Bloom helped lead his high school track team to back-to-back Class 5A state championship titles his junior and senior year. He competed in the 100 m, 200 m, 4 × 100 m and 4x400 meter.

Skiing career
Jeremy Bloom
Medal record
Men's freestyle skiing
Representing  United States
World Championships
FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships Dual Moguls
Deer Valley Moguls
Ruka Dual Moguls

Bloom grew up skiing in Keystone, Colorado. At 14 Bloom was a National Champion, at 15 he became the youngest male freestyle skier to ever make The United States Ski Team,[6] and by 19 he was a World Champion.[7] One month after he was named to the 1st Team Freshman All-American list for college football, he won the World Championship Dual's Gold Medal at the 2003 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships in Deer Valley, Utah. In 2005, he became the first freestyle skier to win six straight races in a single season. He ended 2005 as the top-ranked freestyle skier in the world and number one in moguls for the second time. For the 2002 Olympics Bloom finished 9th and placed 6th in the 2006 Olympics. After the 2006 Olympics, Bloom focused his attention solely on football.

On November 24, 2008, Bloom announced his intention to attend the United States ski team's training camp to assess the possibility of a 2010 return to Olympic skiing.[8] On December 16, 2008, Bloom was added to the 39 man roster of the U.S. Ski Team.

College football career
Jeremy Bloom
No. 15
Position:Wide receiver / Return specialist
Personal information
Born: (1982-04-02) April 2, 1982
Loveland, Colorado
Height:5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight:180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school:Loveland (CO)
College:Colorado
NFL Draft:2006 / Round: 5 / Pick: 147
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Bloom was a wide receiver and punt returner for the University of Colorado Boulder football team. As a freshman, he was selected to the first-team Freshman All-America list by collegefootballnews.com and the FWAA.[9]

On October 5, 2002, Bloom caught a pass from Robert Hodge against Kansas State in Boulder that resulted in a 94-yard (86 m) touchdown. On this play Bloom set four Colorado team records that still stand: All-Time Longest Passing Play, Longest Scoring Play from Scrimmage, Longest Gain on a First Career Reception, Longest Gain by a Freshman.[10]

Bloom also holds the Colorado team record for most combined return yards (kick & punt) in a single game, set against Baylor University in Waco, Texas on October 4, 2003 (143 kickoff and 107 punt). [11]

After a long fought battle with the NCAA to keep his skiing hopes alive for the 2006 Winter Olympics the NCAA declared him permanently ineligible, cutting short his college football career by two years. Two days after competing in the 2006 Turin Olympics Bloom flew to Indianapolis to compete in the NFL Scouting Combine.

Professional football career

Philadelphia Eagles

On April 30, 2006, Bloom was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round (147th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft. [12] He was featured in the NFL's TV show Hey Rookie, Welcome To The NFL.[13] He practiced with the team all through mini-camp as a punt and kick returner, but injured his hamstring during training camp. The injury caused the Eagles to place Bloom on injured reserve, but he remained with the team for the 2006 season. After spending his entire rookie year on injured reserve, Bloom averaged 20.3 yards on 12 kickoff returns and 7.8 yards on 10 punt returns during the 2007 preseason. He was released by the Eagles prior to the regular season.[14]

Pittsburgh Steelers

On December 31, 2007, Bloom was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers in preparation for the 2008 AFC playoff game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He began 2008 training camp with the Steelers.[15] He was released by the Steelers on August 25, 2008.[16][17]

Philanthropy

In the spring of 2008, Bloom launched The Donna Wheeler Foundation. Based in Colorado, the foundation was originally named in honor of his 82-year-old grandmother. The name was later changed to the Jeremy Bloom Wish of a Lifetime Foundation "to establish a solid brand identity."[18] The non-profit, 501(c)(3) foundation's mission is to help low income seniors experience their lifelong wishes.

Other ventures

Leading up to the 2006 NFL draft, Bloom, along with fellow rookies Vernon Davis and A. J. Hawk, appeared in ads for Under Armour's new line of football cleats, with the slogan "Click Clack (I think they hear us coming)." He was also the feature in an ABC Olympic commercial and 80-hour fitness commercial.

Bloom has modeled with Tommy Hilfiger, Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F:Rising Stars Christmas 2004), GQ Magazine and Cosmopolitan magazine. He was a frequent guest host on Video Stew on Palladia and was a VJ for the channel. He has appeared on magazine covers for Cargo, Outside, Sports Illustrated on Campus, Hooked on the Outdoors, and Mile High Sports.

In March 2003, Bloom won the 30th annual CBS Superstars Competition in Jamaica; he defeated nine professional athletes that included Dexter Jackson, Ahman Green, Will Allen[19] and Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward. He ran a 100-yard (91 m) dash in 9.41 seconds, .01 off the events record set by Joey Galloway. He donated his $45,000 prize money to help build youth football fields in his hometown of Loveland, Colorado.

After football practice with the Philadelphia Eagles, he interned for well-known professor and economist Peter Linneman.

In Warren Miller's 55th ski movie Higher Ground, Bloom narrated almost the entire movie with Warren only contributing a few lines.

In 2012, Bloom participated in the dating game show The Choice.[20]

In April 2010, Bloom founded the marketing software company Integrate. The company has raised over $42 million of venture capital from Comcast, Foundry Group and Liberty Global. Integrate was named as the "Best New Company" at the American Business Awards in New York City. Forbes Magazine called Bloom one of the 30 most influential people in technology under the age of 30.[21]

In 2013, Bloom was a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year.[22] Integrate has offices in Denver, Colorado, Scottsdale, Arizona, New York City, San Francisco and Boston.

Bloom is a college football and Olympic sports television analyst and has worked for ESPN, Fox, NBC and The Pac-12 Network.[23]

In January 2008, Bloom founded the organization Wish of a Lifetime, whose mission is to shift the way society views and values our oldest generations by fulfilling seniors' dreams and sharing their stories to inspire those of all ages. Wish of a Lifetime was founded in honor of Jeremy's grandmother and based on the premise that our oldest generations should be respected, honored and aided in our society. (www.wishofalifetime.org). The non-profit has granted over 2,000 wishes in all 50 states.[24][25]

World Cup Skiing results

In Bloom’s four years of competing on the World Cup Tour, he won 11 Gold Medals and earned 26 World Cup Podiums.

  • 2006 Mont Gabriel, World Cup 2
  • 2005 Ruka FIN World Ski Championships Dual 3
  • 2005 Voss NOR World Cup 2
  • 2005 Sauze D'Oulx ITA World Cup 1
  • 2005 Naeba JPN World Cup 1
  • 2005 Inawashiro JPN World Cup 1
  • 2005 Inawashiro JPN World Cup 1
  • 2005 Deer Valley, UT USA World Cup 1
  • 2005 Deer Valley, UT USA World Cup 1
  • 2005 Mont Tremblant, QC CAN World Cup 2
  • 2004 Spindleruv Mlyn CZE World Cup 1
  • 2004 Naeba JPN World Cup 3
  • 2004 Inawashiro JPN World Cup 3
  • 2004 Jisan KOR FIS Race 2
  • 2004 Deer Valley, UT USA World Cup Dual 2
  • 2003 Ruka FIN World Cup 2
  • 2003 Madarao JPN World Cup 1
  • 2003 Steamboat USA World Cup 1
  • 2003 Deer Valley World Ski Championships Duals 1
  • 2003 Deer Valley USA World Ski Championships 2
  • 2003 Mont Tremblant, QC CAN World Cup 2
  • 2002 Ruka FIN World Cup Moguls 2
  • 2002 Inawashiro JPN World Cup Moguls 2
  • 2002 Lake Placid, NY USA World Cup 1
  • 2002 Steamboat USA World Cup Moguls 3
  • 2002 Tignes FRA World Cup Moguls 3

References
  1. Jeremy Bloom, five others to be inducted into Ski & Snowboard Hall
  2. By JULIET MACURFEB. 7, 2006 (2006-02-07). "The Unbearable Lightness of Jeremy Bloom - The New York Times". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  3. "Ski champ Jeremy Bloom's sister hit it big in leading private poker game for boldface names | Penny Parker". Pennyparker.blacktie-colorado.com. 2014-06-23. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  4. "Q&A with Colby Cohen, formerly of the Lincoln Stars | Sports". journalstar.com. 2007-06-15. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  5. "Interfaith Celebrities: Interfaith NFL-ers and Cole Hauser's Impressive Pedigree – InterfaithFamily". Interfaithfamily.com. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  6. Olivero, Antonio (February 27, 2020). "Peak Performers nominee: Jeremy Bloom, freestyle skiing". summitdaily.com. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  7. Macur, Juliet (February 7, 2006). "The Unbearable Lightness of Jeremy Bloom". New York Times. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  8. Associated Press (November 24, 2008). "Bloom returning to US team". si.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2008.
  9. "FWAA Announces 2002 Scripps Freshman All-America Team". sportswriters.net. January 3, 2003. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  10. "2019 Colorado Football Media Guide: Records and History" (PDF). CU Sports Information Office. 2019. p. 183. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  11. "2019 Colorado Football Media Guide: Records and History" (PDF). CU Sports Information Office. 2019. p. 238. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  12. "NFL Draft History (2006)". nfl.com. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  13. "Hey Rookie, Welcome to the NFL". Hey Rookie, Welcome to the NFL. Season 5. Episode 1. September 6, 2006. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  14. Maaddi, Rob (September 1, 2007). "Former Olympic skier Bloom cut by Eagles". nfl.com (via The Associated Press). Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  15. Harris, John (July 29, 2008). "Going for the Black & Gold". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved July 29, 2008.
  16. "Jeremy Bloom out in Steelers' first roster cut". NFL. Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press. August 25, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
  17. Fittipaldo, Ray (August 25, 2008). "Steelers name Hartwig starting center, make first cuts". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved August 25, 2008.
  18. "Home - Wish of a Lifetime". Seniorwish.org. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  19. Dilbeck, Steve (February 10, 2006). "Two-sport star is ready to Bloom". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
  20. Keppler, Justin (June 8, 2012). "Olympic Skier Jeremy Bloom Appears on Fox's New Dating Show 'The Choice'". The Ski Channel. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
  21. "Jeremy Bloom, Co-founder, Integrate, 29". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  22. McPherson, Doug (21 June 2013). "Entrepreneur of the Year finalist: Hart Cunningham and Jeremy Bloom, Integrate.com Inc". Phoenix Business Journal.
  23. "Jeremy Bloom - Investor". CNBC. NBC Universal. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  24. Favaro, Avis (March 8, 2016). "Wish of a Lifetime offers life changing experiences for seniors". CTV News. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  25. Preston, Rob (October 10, 2017). "Startup Founder, Extreme Athlete Jeremy Bloom Channels Centenarian Sisters". Forbes. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.