America’s Rich Ruohonen, a 54-year-old curler and personal injury attorney back in the States, made history on Thursday as the oldest-ever U.S. athlete to compete at the Winter Olympics.
Ruohonen, a curling alternate for the American men’s team, was brought in late for the squad’s preliminary round game against Switzerland.
The Americans conceded to the Swiss team after trailing 8-3 through eight ends in the match. The U.S. men’s team will be back on the ice for a rivalry showdown against Team Canada at 3:05 a.m. ET on Friday.
Ruohonen broke a record that was long held by American figure skater Joseph Savage, who was 52-years-old when he competed for the stars and stripes at the 1932 Lake Placid Games.
Ruohonen, a lawyer working in Minnesota, has racked up several “Attorney of the Year” honors in the North Star State and, per a profile in The Wall Street Journal, has rocked a T-shirt at the games reminding the Olympic community that he’s “not the dad” and “not the coach.”
