Andrew Bloom (born August 11, 1973) is an American former Olympic shot putter, two-time national indoor shot put champion,

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

shot put champion, and NCAA champion in both discus and shot put.

Early and personal life

Bloom is Jewish, and was born in Stamford, Connecticut. He later lived in Niskayuna, New York, where he attended Niskayuna High School, graduating in 1991. While there, he set a New York State high school discus throw record in 1991, with a distance of 202 feet, 9 inches. He earned a master's degree in mathematics education from Wake Forest University in 1998. He is married, and lives in Vacaville, California. He currently teaches mathematics at

Ohlone College Ohlone College (Ohlone or OC) is a public community college with its main campus in Fremont, California and a second campus in Newark. It is part of the California Community College System. The Ohlone Community College District serves the ci ...

in Fremont, CA.

Shot put and discus career

Bloom attended Wake Forest University as an undergraduate, graduating in 1996. At Wake Forest, he earned All-

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

honors each year. As a senior, he won both the NCAA shot put (65–0.5; personal record) and discus (211–1) championships. He became the eighth male in NCAA history to win that double. Bloom won a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

in the discus at the 1997 World University Games, and was ranked third in the US in the discus in 1997. In 1998, he won a silver medal in discus (209–10) at the

1998 Goodwill Games The 1998 Goodwill Games was the fourth edition of the international sports competition the Goodwill Games, which were created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. The competition was held i ...

, and was third in shot put (66–11.25 PR) at the USA Indoors and third in discus (217–11 PR) at the USA Outdoors. In 1999, he won a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in the shot and a silver medal in discus at the 1999 World University Games. He was also fourth in shot put at the World Outdoor Championships in 1999 (20.95 m). He won the shot put at the USA Indoor Championships in 1999 and 2000, with a personal record throw of 70–10.5 in the latter. He was ranked fifth in the world in both shot put and discus in 1999, and third in the US in shot put and second in discus. Bloom made the US Olympic team in 2000, with a throw of 70–10.75. He placed fourth at the Sydney

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, with a throw of 68–5.75 (20.87 m). He finished 2000 ranked second in the world, and with a season-best mark of 71–7.25. He was honored by the

US Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, in Commack, New York, is dedicated to honoring American Jewish figures who have distinguished themselves in sports. Its objective is to foster Jewish identity through athletics, and to commemo ...

in 2001.

Coaching career

He serves as Assistant Coach at the University of California at Davis. He is also the strength and conditioning coach for the UC Davis athletics program.

References

External links

USATF bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloom, Andy 1973 births Living people American male shot putters American male discus throwers Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Goodwill Games medalists in athletics Olympic track and field athletes of the United States People from Niskayuna, New York UC Davis Aggies track and field coaches Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's track and field athletes People from Vacaville, California Sportspeople from Schenectady, New York Sportspeople from Stamford, Connecticut Track and field athletes from Connecticut Track and field athletes from New York (state) Jewish male athletes (track and field) Jewish American sportspeople Universiade gold medalists for the United States Universiade silver medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1997 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1999 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games 21st-century American Jews People from Stamford, Connecticut