He’s the new Old Man Winter.
Rich Ruohonen, 54, became the oldest US Winter Olympian ever on Thursday when he competed for th men’s curling team on Thursday at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan.
Ruohonen, a personal injury attorney from Minnesota, was an alternate for Team USA and was inserted during the team’s second game of the tournament against Switzerland with the final result no longer in doubt.
The US lost to the Swiss, 8-3 through eight ends.
The previous record for oldest US Olympian was set at the 1932 Winter Games in Lake Placid, when 52-year-old Joseph Savage competed in pairs’ figure skating.
Ruohonen had gotten close to appearing in previous Olympics, having participated in five straight Olympic trials from 2006-22, coming up just short in 2018.
He made the 2026 team, which also includes skip Danny Casper, Luc Violette, Ben Richardson and Aidan Oldenburg, as an alternate, but wasn’t part of the opening round round-robin game versus Czechia on Wednesday.
2026 WINTER OLYMPICS
That changed Thursday, when he got into the match against Switzerland.
It’s a success story that almost didn’t happen, as Ruohonen initially stopped competing following his 2022 miss, but he resumed the following year and joined Casper’s team as a sub a year ago when Casper was out with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a condition in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves, leaving Casper unable to maneuver the 44-pound granite stone down the ice.
Casper and his team were able to talk Ruohonen back into competition after Ruohonen had planned to join the senior tour.
Ruohonen filled in as skipper for Casper and was kept on when Casper returned to health, which ultimately led to him making history in Italy.