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The 2005 World Cup moguls champ with the movie star looks, Jeremy Bloom was born April 2, 1982 in Fort Collins, Colorado where he inherited the "ski gene" from his mom who worked at Keystone Mountain as an instructor.

His athletic ability apparently wasn't confined to the slopes, however, as Bloom later played receiver for state football champion Loveland High School, and also competed in track to become a member of the state champion 800-meter relay team in his junior year.

Back on the slopes in 2001, Bloom won the NorAm Moguls and started off the 2002 season on the C team for the United States. Working his way up the ski circuit, he competed in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City where he finished ninth in moguls.

Bloom eventually returned to the football field at the University of Colorado and became the first team freshman All-American in football — and in 2002 made the record books by executing the longest pass reception in CU history at 94 yards against KSU for a touchdown.

Although Bloom intended on staying with Colorado, he was banned by the National College Athletic Association in 2004 after he announced he would be accepting skiing endorsement deals to pursue his dream of competing in the 2006 Winter Olympics.

With his attention firmly placed the games in Turin, he was the athlete to watch for taking the gold in the moguls at the Freestyle event, his last Olympic competition before going on to pursue a full-time career with the National Football League. However, he missed medaling in the event with a 4th place finish.

Following the Olympics, Jeremy Bloom once again concentrated on a football career. and became a fifth-round draft pick for the Philadelphia Eagles - who signed the 5-foot-9 and 172 pound athlete to a four-year contract in July 2006.

However, following a ham string injury during training camp. he was placed on injured reserve and remained with the team for the 2006 season. He was later released by the Eagles. Later, he began 2008 training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers but was released by the team later that summer just before the season began.

Although aiming for a return to Olympic glory at the Vancouver games in 2010, Bloom instead announced his retirement from the sport that year to instead concentrate on broadcasting for ESPN and to devote more time to his charity, "Bloom's Wish of Lifetime", a Colorado-based non-profit that grants wishes to low-income senior citizens.

Off the field, Bloom was voted one of the "Sexiest Men in Sports" by Sports Illustrated for Women in 2002 and an "Eye Candy" award from Cosmo Girl in 2003.

More about Jeremy Bloom around the Web:

Jeremy Bloom.com - The official site with with news, biography, career highlights, video clips, photo gallery gallery.

Jeremy Bloom - Wikipedia - Bio and vital stats, pictures, career highlights and related links & resources.

Spotlight on: Jeremy Bloom - Winter Olympics - Profile from MSNBC with a brief bio and career highlights, pictures, quotes.

also see in Sports Idols -> Bode Miller

also see in Sports -> Skiing | Olympics

Olympic Freestyle Skiing