‘The Crowd Was Cheering Me On’: Rich Ruohonen, 54, Shares the Secret to His Ageless Curling Success

United States curling team member Rich Ruohonen just made history at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. At 54, the personal injury attorney officially became the oldest American athlete to ever compete in the Games, something he says is “awesome.” Below, we share everything you need to know about this match, including when you can watch him compete next.

Originally from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, Ruohonen started curling in the fifth grade at the St. Paul Curling Club. He then attended Hamline University before attending law school. During that time, he took a step back from curling to focus on his studies, but after he passed the bar, he went straight back on the ice.

He went on to compete in several different tournaments and even won back-to-back silver and bronze medals at the senior world championships in men’s curling in 2024 and 2025, respectively. He then went on to join the Olympic men’s curling team as an alternate, meaning that he wasn’t scheduled to actually compete in the games. On Thursday, February 12, that all changed when, after seven ends (rounds) of curling, his teammates let him take the lead. They lost in the end, but none of that mattered to Ruohonen, who was just happy to be there. ​

“I mean, it’s kind of bad under those circumstances that we’re in a loss, and I’m a team player 110 percent, but I told them, ‘Let’s just get it out of the way now so we don’t have to worry about it the rest of the way,” Ruohonen told NBC News. “The crowd was cheering me on, and the (Swiss) Schwaller team was so great about it. Normally, in our game, we shake hands if it’s out of reach, and I just told them, ‘Hey guys, we’re just going to get this out of the way, do you mind if I play a couple rocks and we play one more end?’ and they said, ‘Great, you deserve it. Get in there.’ It meant a lot, and I think a lot of people in the crowd knew it and it was great.”

Ruohonen’s teammate, Danny Casper, echoed similar thoughts, telling the outlet, “We’re not doing him a favor by putting him in. He deserves it.

“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. Glad to get him in,” Casper concluded.

At 54, Ruohonen is older than all of his teammates—and all of Team USA. To keep up, he says he makes sure he has a strong upper body.

“When you’re sweeping, you’re leaning a large majority of your weight on your broom and moving it back and forth. And you’re on your tippy toes a lot. So you have to be strong,” Ruohonen told CBS News earlier this month. “You have to have a strong upper body. You have the legs. You’re constantly sliding out in a lunging position. That alone is hard. And I don’t know if you’ve ever tried just standing on ice for, let’s say, six, eight hours a day. Just stand there, don’t do anything one time and see how your back feels and your muscles feel, because when we play two games in a day, we are out on the ice for six to eight hours sometimes.”

Off the ice, Ruohonen enjoys fishing, water sports and playing competitive softball. He’s also a personal injury attorney in Minnesota and specializes in accidents and traumatic brain injuries.

“I’m a lawyer [in Minnesota]. I’ve been for 28 years, and a lot of tragedy, a lot of difficulties,” Ruohonen told CBS News. “The Olympics it brings this unity, this respect and this compassion and Minnesota has shown out and used that. Respect, compassion, empathy for people that is sometimes lacking in our country, but we, I want to make no mistake about it, we’re playing for the U.S. We love the U.S. We love the U.S. We love what the flag is and what it represents. And we’re here to support our families and our friends who gave up so much for us to be here today.”

Ruohonen and his wife, Sherry, have two children. Though he keeps his family life private, he told NBC News how they’d respond to him saying that making the Olympic team was the best day of his life.

“They’re not gonna be mad at me for saying it wasn’t my wedding day. We’ve been married a long, long time,” he said.

Ruohonen will take the ice at 3:05 a.m. EST on Friday. February 13, and no matter what place his team gets, the lawyer says he’s just happy to be a part of such a historic moment in sports.

“I love these guys,” Ruohonen told NBC News. “I’ve been through a lot with them. These guys are my best friends, even though I’m twice their age. They know what it meant to me to get in there, so I really appreciate everything they’ve done for me and brought me along the way. And I’ve tried to help them in every way I can, and I hope I’ve done that.”