Team USA hero is decorated lawyer on brink of history as oldest ever Olympian after answering urgent call

In the high-stakes world of personal injury law, Rich Ruohonen is used to answering the call when things go sideways.

But on the ice at the 2026 Winter Olympics, the 54-year-old attorney answered a different kind of summons—one that etched his name into the history books.

Getty

When Team USA’s men’s curling squad found themselves struggling in a round-robin match against Switzerland, they made a move rarely seen on the Olympic stage.

Trailing 8-2, the team called for their alternate.

Ruohonen, a partner at the Minnesota-based firm TSR Injury Law, stepped onto the ice, officially becoming the oldest American to ever compete in a Winter Olympics.

But to understand Ruohonen’s journey, one must go back decades to see that his entire road to Milan was paved with years of “almosts.”

Since 2006, he has competed in every U.S. Olympic Trial, often finishing as a runner-up or in third place. A two-time national champion and world-class skip in his own right, he finally reached the Games not as the lead, but as the fifth—an alternate role he embraced with the same tenacity he brings to a courtroom.

Before he ever threw a stone in Milan, Ruohonen had already become a cult hero in the Olympic Village. To his teammates, most of whom are in their 20s and roughly the same age as his daughter, he is part mentor, part tactician, and part team chef.

Ruohonen is known for grilling steaks and cooking omelets for the squad, famously wearing a homemade T-shirt that reads: “I’m not the dad, and I’m not the coach.”

His inclusion on the roster was a stroke of fate.

Ruohonen had actually briefly retired from elite curling after the 2022 cycle, focusing on his law practice. However, he was lured back when Team Casper needed an experienced hand after its skip, Danny Casper, was sidelined with Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Ruohonen filled the void so effectively that even when Casper returned, the team kept him on.

Getty

Getty

“I was probably the most sought-after free agent because I had so much experience,” Ruohonen joked with reporters.

That experience was called upon in the eighth end against Switzerland. Stepping in for lead Aidan Oldenburg, Ruohonen delivered his stones with the precision of a man who has been curling since the fifth grade at the St. Paul Curling Club.

While the U.S. ultimately fell 8-3, the moment was about more than the scoreboard.

By taking the ice, Ruohonen surpassed the record held by Joseph Savage, a 52-year-old figure skater from the 1932 Lake Placid Games.

For Ruohonen, the achievement is the culmination of a career that saw him take only one season off in 45 years—and even then, it was only to recover from a knee injury while finishing law school.

“It’s always been a dream. I frankly thought it was over two years ago,” Ruohonen said. “To be retired, and come out, and now be an Olympian—it’s kind of crazy, actually.”

Getty

Despite the celebration, Ruohonen remains grounded in his professional roots. As a lawyer who has spent 28 years defending the rights of others, he used his Olympic platform to speak on civil liberties, expressing concern over recent events in his home state of Minnesota.

“The Olympics brings this unity, respect, and compassion,” he noted, bridging the gap between his life as a litigator and his life as an elite athlete.

As Team USA prepares for their next match, they do so with a piece of history in their ranks.

Whether he’s in the starting lineup or back at the grill, Rich Ruohonen has proven that in the Olympics, and in life, it’s never too late to answer the call.