Olympics-Ruohonen eyes Winter Games history as 'Dad' to US men's curling team

By Aadi Nair

Jan 12 (Reuters) - Rich Ruohonen has spent decades chasing his Olympic dreams and enduring heartbreaks but the veteran curler now has a chance to etch his name into the history books as the oldest American athlete to compete in the Winter Games.

The 54-year-old, who juggles his sporting ambitions and a career as a personal injury lawyer in Minnesota, started curling in the 1980s and made his first appearance at the United States Men's Championship in 1998.

Ruohonen is on the cusp of a rare feat as the alternate for the Daniel Casper-led U.S. men's curling team, which last month qualified for the Milano Cortina Games.

Although he is not guaranteed a game, if Ruohonen does take to the ice in Cortina, he will eclipse figure skater Joseph Savage, who is the current oldest American Winter Olympian according to Olympics statistics website Olympedia.

Savage was 52 when he competed at the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.

"This is everything I've worked for 30 years. I've been so close," Ruohonen told Reuters by video call.

"I finished second a few times to go to the Olympics, and third and fourth and sometimes we were the number one seed and we blew it. Four years ago, I lost in the last shot to go to the Beijing Olympics for mixed doubles.

"Then my men's team took third (at the U.S. trials) and I thought that was pretty much it. I was 50 years old and I didn't know if I'd have another chance. I figured someday I'd go as a coach."

TEAM CASPER

Ruohonen took a break from the sport after missing out on the Beijing Games and returned in the 2023-24 season as part of a team led by retired NFL Hall-of-Famer Jared Allen.

Last year, he joined Team Casper after the skip was sidelined by Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare condition that can progress to paralysis.

Ruohonen led the team in several matches and even guided them to victory at the Henderson Metal Fall Classic in October, but with Casper fit again, he has returned to the role of alternate.

"I want them to play, I want them to be together. But I'm here when they need me. I just do everything I can behind the scenes to help them," Ruohonen said.

"That includes being like the dad or the mom of the team, making breakfast, driving them around, doing the scouting late at night, talking to the coaches and trying to help with team dynamics the best I can.

"We have a lot of fun and they make me feel young again. I think we get along really well and we're having a good time."

Ruohonen said he was looking forward to the experience of being part of the Olympics.

"I'm so pumped. My family has made a lot of sacrifices and it will just be one of the greatest things, to have them there enjoying it with me."

NOT THERE TO MAKE UP NUMBERS

While Ruohonen has been around the sport for decades, the team's four starting members are relatively young.

The quartet, comprising Casper (24), Luc Violette (26), Ben Richardson (27) and Aidan Oldenburg (24), have had a challenging path to the Games.

They earned the right to represent the U.S. by claiming a shock win over 2018 Olympic gold medallist John Shuster's team at the trials in November.

They then won six out of seven round-robin matches at the Olympic Qualification Event in December, before beating China 9-4 in the playoffs to seal their spot at the Olympics.

"We've really come a long way this year. The guys have grown a lot. Except for me, we're a real young team, so they have a lot to learn, but they're figuring it out," Ruohonen said.

"So yeah, we're really happy. We have got a lot to do over the next two months though. We're not happy just to make it. We want to do well. It is probably the toughest Olympic field in curling maybe ever."