Fit Again Through Competition

Richard Bloom had always been athletic and loved wrestling and lifting weights before he started his career with the Suffolk County (Massachusetts) Sheriff’s Department at the age of 24. However, injuries slowed him down and the challenges of being a cop disrupted his health and fitness.  Then he discovered the World Police and Fire Games. 

“I had become a victim of poor diet and living a sedentary lifestyle,” the 16-year service veteran says. “I was a former college athlete and was always in really good shape. Then I was working double shifts and ordering fast food a lot. There always seems to be cupcakes and doughnuts and cookies around. I made some poor choices.” 

Richard discovered there were competitions for first responders when he saw a feature story about the 2011 World Police and Fire Games on ESPN. He began lifting weights again, got into shape and eagerly jumped into the games. Despite sport-related injuries and surgery setbacks over the years, Richard has carved his name into the WPFG record books over the past three Games. So far, he has tallied 10 Gold, four 4 Silver and three Bronze medals and set nine records with WPFG in Bench Press, Push Pull, Wrestling and Wrist Wrestling.

The lifting lieutenant loves mixing it up with his peers from around the globe and looks forward to the 2025 World Police and Fire Games in Birmingham. He has also competed at other service-related events, including the US Police and Fire Championships, The First Responder Games, Canadian-American Police and Fire Games, and the Nevada Police and Fire Games. 

“I've done some wrestling competitions over the years unrelated to police service, but these are special. It may sound a little egotistic, but I want to get a medal from each one of them,” he says. “But what really makes them special is how I have found new friends and made some really good bonds at these events, like the guy I keep in touch with in Queensland, Australia.”

By Del Moon