CORTINA D\u2019AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) \u2014 The stakes were low \u2014 and the time ripe \u2014 for a 54-year old personal injury lawyer and six-time winner of \u201cMinnesota Attorney of the Year\u201d to make Olympic history.<\/p>\n
It was the end of the U.S. men\u2019s curling match against Switzerland on Thursday and they were down 8-2.<\/p>\n
The team called a substitution. Rich Ruohonen, from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, stepped onto the ice. He hurled the corner guard and watched his stone, biting his lip until it arrived safely at the left flank of the house. <\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, baby! Good shot, Rich!\u201d skip Danny Casper \u2014 who was born in 2001, making him 30 years younger than Ruohonen \u2014 shouted across the ice. Teammate Luc Violette, whose father played with Ruohonen years ago, let out a whoop. <\/p>\n
U.S. fans gave a standing ovation. The lawyer looked wistful. He\u2019d had just become the oldest person to compete for the U.S. at the Winter Olympics. <\/p>\n
\u201cI would have rather done it when we were up 8-2 instead of down 8-2,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I really appreciate the guys giving me a chance.\u201d <\/p>\n
Since inviting Ruohonen onto their Gen-Z team as an alternate for Casper, who has Guillain-Barre syndrome, he has become something of an honorary uncle: driving them around, waking them up for morning trainings and buying them snacks.<\/p>\n
All while holding that much-discussed full-time job.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got Rich. Uh, he\u2019s a lawyer. I don\u2019t know if you guys knew that,\u201d said Casper at a recent press conference, after that fact had already been mentioned four times. Curlers from the US women\u2019s and men\u2019s teams cracked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you need a lawyer, I think you can call Rich,\u201d Casper said a few minutes later, again to uproarious laughter. <\/p>\n
All jokes aside, it\u2019s a serious commitment. You don\u2019t win Minnesota attorney of the year six times by slacking. <\/p>\n
\u201cI get up three days a week at 5 in the morning, leave my house by 5:15 in the morning, go drive 30 miles to work out and train,\u201d Ruohonen told the AP. <\/p>\n
He then heads to his law practice and works all day before returning at 6 p.m. before heading to practice again. He spends Thursday through Sunday away at curling tournaments, toting around a collared shirt and a tie so he can handle hearings on Zoom from the road. He has two kids with his wife Sherri: Nicholas, 21, and Hannah, 24. He has taught them to curl \u2014 as his father taught him \u2014- but says Nick prefers hockey. <\/p>\n
Though his teammates poke fun and make him the butt of the occasional TikTok video, there\u2019s clearly a lot of love on both sides. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s because of the younger teammates that Ruohonen has finally gotten his Olympic moment after falling just short on several occasions. And it\u2019s because of Ruohonen that the team has a mentor and a connection to the older generation of the sport, some of whom they defeated to clinch their Olympic qualification. <\/p>\n
\u201cI came from the days when guys were smoking cigarettes out on the ice and all we did was throw rocks and think that we could be better,\u201d Ruohonen said while praising his teammates\u2019 work ethic.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook at these guys,\u201d he added. \u201cEvery one of them\u2019s ripped. And every one of them sweeps their butt off.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014<\/p>\n
This story has been corrected to show the first name of Ruohonen\u2019s son is Nicholas instead of Nicolas.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
AP writer Moriah Balingit contributed from Washington, D.C. <\/p>\n
\u2014<\/p>\n