Rich Ruohonen, a 54-year-old attorney from Minnesota, made his Olympic debut on Thursday, becoming the oldest American to ever compete in the Winter Olympic Games.
Ruohonen, an alternate, was subbed in during the U.S. men's curling round-robin match against Switzerland in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, replacing lead Aidan Oldenburg at the start of the eighth end. By that point, Team USA was down 8-2.
Ruohonen threw two stones after stepping onto the ice, making both shots.
"The crowd was cheering me on and the [Swiss] Schwaller team were so great about it. Normally in our game we shake hands if it's out of reach and I just told them, 'Hey guys, we're just going to get this out of way, do you mind if I play a couple rocks and we play one more end?' and they said, 'Great, you deserve it. Get in there.'"
The Brooklyn Park native broke the record for the oldest U.S. Winter Olympian, which was previously held by figure skater Joseph Savage, who was also an attorney. Born in 1879, Savage was 52 when he competed in pairs skating at the 1932 Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York.
Ruohonen, who has two kids, Nicholas, 21, and Hannah, 24, with his wife, Sherri, has been curling since he was a child. His father taught him how to play, and by the fifth grade, he was hitting the ice every weekend at the St Paul Curling Club in his home state.
Ruohonen told the "Today" show that competing at the Winter Games had been a lifelong dream.
"We made a lot of sacrifices—my family, my two kids, and my wife—to pursue this dream," he said.
"To be so close so many times and not have it happen and then got kind of fortunate to have these guys pick me up and tried to help them out in any way I could and to get out there was a dream. It's about perseverance and working hard and just hanging in there—and a little bit of luck."