Personal injury lawyer Rich Ruohonen became the oldest U.S. Winter Olympian thanks to a late-game substitution in the men’s curling match against Switzerland. Team Casper was down 8-2 in their second game of round-robin play on Thursday with only a couple ends left in the match. The team opted to bring in their alternate, a 54-year-old looking to make history. The oldest U.S. Winter Olympian before Ruohonen was Joseph Savage, a 52-year-old figure skater who competed at the 1932 Lake Placid Games. The 54-year-old has dreamed of making the Olympic team for 20 years. He started competing in Olympic Trials back in 2006, but had never made the cut until this year when he joined Team Casper as an alternate. Making the team was beyond emotional for the Minnesota native, who knew these Games would be his last chance. “It was really emotional for me because I thought it was over,” he said after Trials in November. “I thought I had retired, basically, and even though I’m not playing full-time or anything like that, I feel like I’m part of the team. Any way I can help, I’ve helped. Just to make it this time, I told my wife, it’s all worth it.” Ruohonen is the fifth member of Team Casper, which is made up of skip Daniel Casper, Luc Violette, Ben Richardson and Aidan Oldenburg The men’s team’s loss to Switzerland brings their round-robin record to 1-1. They take on Canada next on Friday. var pymParent = new pym.Parent('olyLink4844', 'https://visuals.otsops.com/projects/milan-links-generator/visual-link.html?link=https://www.nbcolympics.com/videos/team-usa-curlers-beat-czechia-olympic-debutstitle=Team%20USA%20curlers%20beat%20Czechia%20in%20Olympic%20debutsrand=4844image=https://images.nbcolympics.com/sites/default/files/2026-02/1920x1080_CurlingReplacementII.jpg?impolicy=rect_medium_1024_576', {title: '', parenturlparam: '', parenturlvalue: ''}); What is the men’s curling schedule? The competition started early, with the first curlers taking to the ice on Wednesday, Feb. 4, two days before the Opening Ceremony. Curling events will continue all the way through to the end of the Olympic Games on Feb. 22. The men’s team starts round robin play on Feb. 11, an entire week before the semifinals on Feb. 19. Here’s a look at their schedule: Wednesday, Feb. 11: Czechia vs. USA — 1:05 p.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 12: USA vs. Switzerland — 8:05 a.m. EST Friday, Feb. 13: Canada vs. USA — 3:05 p.m. EST Saturday, Feb. 14: Germany vs. USA — 8:05 a.m. EST Sunday, Feb. 15: USA vs. Sweden — 3:05 a.m. EST Sunday, Feb. 15: Norway vs. USA — 1:05 p.m. EST Tuesday, Feb. 17: USA vs. China — 13:05 a.m. EST Tuesday, Feb. 17: USA vs. Italy — 1:05 p.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 18: USA vs. Great Britain — 1:05 p.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 19: Men’s semifinal Friday, Feb. 20: Men’s bronze final Saturday, Feb. 21: Men’s gold final 🥇 Curling events at the 2026 Olympics will air on NBC New York and USA Network. Streaming will be available on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, the NBC Olympics app and the NBC app. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. ...read more read less