Bai Ruhonen, 54, a lawyer from Minnesota, has joined the US men's curling team for Olympic history.AP News

American player, Rich Ruohonen made Olympic history after entering the team as a substitute at the end of the game.

A 54-year-old Minnesota personal injury lawyer just became the oldest U.S. Winter Olympian

A 54-year-old personal injury attorney from Minnesota has become America's oldest winter Olympian.

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — The stakes are low — and the time has come — for the 54-year-old personal injury attorney and six-time "Minnesota Lawyer of the Year" winner to make Olympic history.

It was the end of the US men's curling game against Switzerland on Thursday, leading 8-2.

The team asked for a change.Rich Ruohonen, of Brooklyn Park, Minn., steps onto the ice.He dropped the corner guard and followed the puck, biting his lip, until it was safe on the left side of the house.

- Yes, baby!Nice shot, Amir!Jumping Danny Kasper - born in 2001, makes him 30 years younger than Ruhonen and screams on the ice.

Fans in the US burst into applause.The lawyer looked confused. He had just become the oldest person to compete in the US Winter Olympics.

"I'd rather do it when we're up 8-2 than down 8-2, but I really appreciate being given a chance," he said.

Since inviting Ruohonen to their Gen-Z team as a replacement for Casper, who has Guillain-Barre syndrome, he has become an honorary uncle: showing them around, waking them up for their morning workout, and buying them snacks.

You work a full-time job that is always talked about a lot.

"We got Rich. Uh, he's a lawyer. I don't know if you guys knew that," Casper said in a recent press conference, after that fact had already been mentioned four times.Curlers from the US women's and men's teams went through.

"If you need a lawyer, I guess you can call Rich," Casper said a few minutes later, laughing again.

Aside from the jokes, it's a serious commitment.

"Three days a week I get up at 5 a.m., I leave the house at 5:15 a.m., I ride 30 miles to train and train," Ruohonen told the AP.

He then goes to his law practice, works all day and returns at 6pm before practicing again.From Thursday to Sunday, he spins at tournaments, in a collared shirt and tie, and can handle hearing Zoom from the road.He says he likes it.

His teammates sometimes make fun of him or lash out at him on TikTok videos, but there's clearly a lot of love on both sides.

Thanks to his younger teammates, Ruohonen finally got his Olympic moment after missing out several times.And because of Ruohonen, the team has a mentor and a connection to the older generation of the sport, some of whom they beat to get Olympic qualification.

"I come from a time when guys were smoking on the ice and we were just throwing rocks and thinking we could be better," Rohonen said, praising his teammates' work ethic.

"Look at these people," he added."Every one of them is cut. And every one of them sweeps the head."

The story has been revised so that Rohonen's son is named Nikolas, not Nikolas.

Olombicada AP: https:///hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics