Rich Ruohonen, a 54-year-old personal injury lawyer from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, became the oldest person to compete for the United States at a Winter Olympics when he stepped on the ice during Thursday's men's curling match against Switzerland. With the US trailing 8-2, the team called a substitution, and Ruohonen took his place, delivering a precise corner guard that drew a standing ovation from the crowd.
"I would have rather done it when we were up 8-2 instead of down 8-2," Ruohonen said, "but I really appreciate the guys giving me a chance." The moment came after a long career in which he won two national championships and competed at two world championships but never reached the Olympics. He joined the team as an alternate for skip Danny Casper, who was born in 2001 and has Guillain-Barré syndrome, and has since served as an unofficial mentor, driving younger teammates to practice, waking them for morning sessions and buying them snacks.
Ruohonen, a six-time winner of "Minnesota Attorney of the Year," balances his law practice with training, rising at 5am three days a week to drive 30 miles to work out before putting in a full day at his office. He then returns at 6pm for more practice and spends Thursdays through Sundays at curling tournaments, carrying a collared shirt and tie so he can handle Zoom hearings on the road. He and his wife Sherri have two children, Nicholas, 21, and Hannah, 24, both of whom he taught to curl, though Nicholas prefers hockey.
Earlier this week, Ruohonen made headlines for speaking out against recent US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Minnesota, where two people were killed during a crackdown that brought more than 3,000 federal agents to the state. "I'm proud to be here to represent Team USA and to represent our country. But we'd be remiss if we didn't at least mention what's going on in Minnesota," he said. "What's happening in Minnesota is wrong. There's no shades of gray." He praised the community's response and stressed that he and his teammates are "playing for the people of Minnesota and the people around the country who share those same values."
Despite the age gap, Ruohonen's teammates treat him with affection, making him the subject of jokes and occasional TikTok videos. Casper teased him at a news conference, saying, "We got Rich. Uh, he's a lawyer. I don't know if you guys knew that," to laughter. The bond is mutual: without his younger teammates, Ruohonen might never have earned his Olympic moment. "I came from the days when guys were smoking cigarettes out on the ice," he said, reflecting on his journey.
