MILAN — Rich Ruohonen has been trying to get to the Olympics for almost 40 years. At 54 years old, he finally made it — as an alternate for Team Casper, the Gen-Z curlers representing the U.S at the 2026 Winter Games.
"Just to throw one rock would be the greatest moment of my life. My kids know it, and my wife knows it as well. So they're not going to be mad at me for saying it wasn't my wedding day," Ruohonen said at a press conference earlier this week.
On Thursday, Ruohonen got his moment — and set a new age record, becoming the oldest U.S. athlete to ever compete in the Winter Olympics. He broke an age record last set by figure skater Joseph Savage, who was 52 when he competed in the 1932 Lake Placid Winter Olympics.
After the 7th end, in a match against Switzerland's Team Schwaller, the U.S. was trailing by six points and had little chance of winning. Ruohonen subbed in at the start of the 8th end, throwing two rocks and sweeping a path for others thrown by his teammates.
"Yeah, baby, good shot Rich," shouted skip Danny Casper, as his rock settled into a spot as the corner guard.
The U.S. conceded the match soon after. Team Casper's current record is 1-1, after winning a match against Czechia on Wednesday. They have seven more matches to go in the preliminary round.
"We're not doing him a favor by putting him in. He deserves it," Casper said after the match, "They're looking at me after that end, like, should we put him in? Like it's something that was not the most obvious decision ever. It was already on our mind, and glad to get (him) in."
Ruohonen's attempts to get to the Olympics date to 1988 when curling was a trial sport at the Calgary Winter Games. In the decades since, he's continued trying. "I've narrowly missed the Olympics numerous times, including four years ago…[when] my men's team took third. I've had so much heartbreak," Ruohonen says.
"To get here and throw two rocks is all I wanted, and it means that perseverance pays off," he says. "All those times when maybe the luck wasn't going my way, it went my way this time."
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