Jeremy Bloom

Jeremy Bloom (born April 2, 1982) is an American former skier and American football player. He is the only athlete in history to both ski in the Winter Olympics and be drafted into the National Football League.
As a 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 National Ski Hall of Fame in 2013. In 2006, he won a then-record six straight World Cup events in a single season.
As a football player, Bloom was a freshman All-American at the University of Colorado. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2006 NFL Draft and was also a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Personal life.
Bloom was born in Fort Collins, Colorado, the son of Charlene, a ski and fly fishing instructor, and Larry Bloom, a clinical psychologist, and grew up in nearby Loveland. His older sister, Molly Bloom, is an author and former poker entrepreneur who wrote "Molly's Game", and was the inspiration for the film of the same name. His cousin is ice hockey player Colby Cohen. Bloom's father is Jewish and his mother is Christian.
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.
Bloom married Mariah Oliviera on November 11, 2018 in Keystone, Colorado.
Skiing career.
Bloom grew up skiing in Keystone, Colorado. At 15 he became the youngest male freestyle skier to ever make the United States Ski Team. 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. He finished 9th in the 2002 Olympics and 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. On December 16, 2008, Bloom was added to the 39 man roster of the U.S. Ski Team.
In 2020, Bloom was featured in the HBO film, "The Weight of Gold", which covered the mental health toll that training at the young age for the Olympics took a number of featured athletes.
College football career.
Bloom was a wide receiver and punt returner for the University of Colorado football team. He was selected to the first-team Freshman All-America list by the FWAA.
On October 5, 2002, Bloom caught a pass from Robert Hodge against Kansas State in Boulder that resulted in a touchdown. On this play Bloom set four Colorado team records that stood as of 2020: all-time longest passing play, longest scoring play from scrimmage, longest gain on a first career reception, longest gain by a freshman.
Bloom 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).
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 Olympics Bloom participated 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. He was featured in the NFL TV show "Hey Rookie, Welcome To The NFL". He practiced with the team all through mini-camp as a punt and kick returner, but injured his hamstring during training camp, placing him on injured reserve. Bloom 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.
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. He was released by the Steelers on August 25, 2008.
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 and future Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward. He ran a 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.
In 2012, Bloom participated in the dating game show "The Choice".
In April 2010, Bloom founded the marketing software company Integrate. In 2013, Bloom was a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year.
Bloom is a college football and Olympic sports television analyst and has worked for ESPN, Fox, NBC and The Pac-12 Network.
In the spring of 2008, Bloom launched The Donna Wheeler Foundation, later renamed to the Jeremy Bloom Wish of a Lifetime Foundation. The non-profit, 501(c)(3) foundation's mission is to help low income seniors experience their lifelong wishes.