Who Is Rich Ruohonen? Everything to Know About American's Historic Olympic Debut at 54 Years Old

The United States men's curling team had a match to forget against Switzerland on Thursday at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics, but it at least made history in the 8-3 defeat.

With the match all but decided, the Americans subbed in 54-year-old Rich Ruohonen as an alternate, making him the oldest United States athlete to ever compete in the Winter Olympics.

The previous record for the oldest American to compete in the Winter Games was held by Joseph Savage. Savage was 52 years old when he took to the ice in the pairs' figure skating competition in the 1932 Lake Placid Games.

It has been quite the journey to the Olympic stage for Ruohonen.

Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports noted he stepped away from elite curling in 2022 after failing to qualify for the Beijing Games. It was his sixth attempt to reach the Winter Olympics, but his men's team finished in third place at the U.S. Olympic trials.

He was also on the mixed doubles team that lost in the finals on the last shot.

While Ruohonen has enjoyed an excellent career that included the 2008 and 2018 U.S. championships, he always fell just short of the sport's biggest stage.

That changed after the team led by skipper Danny Casper looked for a substitute 18 months ago after the 24-year-old was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, which is an autoimmune condition that impacted his ability to compete at times.

"What was supposed to be a short-term partnership instead turned into something more after Ruohonen thrived as a fill-in skipper last season and developed instant chemistry with a quartet of teammates no older than half his age," Eisenberg wrote. "Casper invited Ruohonen to stick around this season as the team's alternate—or fifth player—even though the 24-year-old had regained his strength and no longer needed a regular substitute."

The team secured a spot in the 2026 Games by defeating John Shuster's team in the Olympic Trials and then performing well at the ensuing global qualification tournament.

That allowed Ruohonen to live out his Olympic dreams even though he wasn't expected to contribute much during games.

However, he got an opportunity to actually compete in Thursday's loss.

While the Americans fell short against Switzerland, they did defeat Czechia in their first round-robin match on Wednesday. Next up is a Friday matchup against Canada as round-robin play continues.