"Officially, Rich Ruohonen is listed as the alternate on the U.S. men's Olympic curling team in Milan-Cortina. Unofficially, he might be the most indispensable 54-year-old personal injury attorney in the Olympic Village. He'd also be oldest American to ever compete at the Winter Olympics. "I'm not the dad and I'm not the coach," his homemade T-shirt communicates to other athletes, The Wall Street Journal reported. He's there to compete."
"A two-time U.S. champion and long-time fixture in American curling, Ruohonen has finally reached the Games after more than four decades in a sport he first learned on Saturday mornings in the fifth grade, at the St. Paul Curling Club in his home state of Minnesota. The way Team USA's youngest Olympians tell it, that "guy" is the one cooking omelets before pressure games, grilling steaks after big wins, and quietly picking up a chunk of the tab to keep their improbable run on track."
Rich Ruohonen is officially the alternate on the U.S. men's Olympic curling team in Milan-Cortina and is a 54-year-old personal injury attorney. He performs essential off-ice roles: driving the team van, handling early grocery runs, cooking omelets on game days, grilling after wins, and contributing financially to travel and lodging. He is a two-time U.S. champion who began curling in 1981 at the St. Paul Curling Club and has competed for more than four decades. He stepped away from elite men's curling in 2022 after multiple Olympic bids, then returned as an alternate and may be the oldest American to compete at the Winter Olympics.
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