Rich Ruohonen becomes oldest American Olympian amid pack of seniors

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — At 54, curler Rich Ruohonen thought his Olympic dream had passed him by. Which was a pretty good bet since no American his age had ever competed in the Winter Games.

Until now. Because when Ruohonen replaced lead Aidan Oldenburg for the start of the eighth end in the Americans’ 8-3 loss to Switzerland in round-robin play Thursday, he not only defied the odds, he continued a trend that has seen several older Olympians going for gold in their golden years during the Milan-Cortina Games.

At least a half-dozen athletes ages 40 and older came to the Italy Games expecting to compete for medals.

One of those, skier Lindsey Vonn, who took to the slopes with a torn ACL, had her Olympics end early in a spectacular crash on her first run while a second, snowboarder Nick Baumgartner, 44, finished seventh in snowboard cross Thursday, losing his semifinal by less than a foot to Austria’s Alessandro Haemmerle, who went on to repeat as the Olympic champion.

American Nick Baumgartner celebrates during the men’s snowboard cross finals at the Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, on Thursday.

(Lindsey Wasson / Associated Press)

“As I get older and claim that I’m going to go to another Olympics, so many people step up and say, ‘There’s no way,’” said Baumgartner, who was competing in his fifth Winter Games. “That just adds fuel to the fire. I love it.

“When I come here to the Olympics at 44, no one expects me to win or do that well, so it takes the pressure away and I just go out there and I do everything I can,” he added. “When you find something you really love, it’s so much fun to push your body to see what you’re capable of.”

Elana Meyers Taylor, 41, another five-time Olympian, and U.S. teammate Kaillie Humphries, 40, will take part in the women’s bobsled, which gets started next week. Both will have children looking on.

Former U.S. skier Sarah Schelper, 46, now competing for Mexico, didn’t just have a child watching when she finished 26th in the women’s Super G in her seventh Olympic appearance Thursday. Her son Lasse Gaxiola, 18, will also ski in the Milan-Cortina Games, in the men’s giant slalom, making them the first mother and son to compete in the same Winter Games.

Elana Meyers Taylor, 41, is among a wave of over 40 Olympics competing at the Milan-Cortina Games.

(Matthias Schrader / Associated Press)

And Schelper may not be done. Although she’s already the oldest female skier in Olympic history, she says she hasn’t ruled out a return for the next Winter Games in 2030.

“I think my body could manage it, especially the super-G. Because the super-G is actually, besides the fear factor, one of the easier events for me,” she said. “But the more important thing is to let the younger Mexicans have a shot.

“So if there’s anyone qualified that’s younger than me, even if I ski faster than them, I’m letting them go.”

Then there’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek, 42, who was retired for 16 years before returning to skate for Canada. She and partner Maxime Deschamps are among the favorites for gold in the pairs competition this weekend.

Deanna Stellato-Dudek, of Canada, competes in the pairs’ short program segment at the ISU Grand Prix in Japan on Dec. 4.

(Hiro Komae / Associated Press)

Ruohonen, however, is not only the oldest American Winter Olympian, he may be the most patient as well. After missing out — again — on a trip to the Olympics four years ago, he retired from elite competition. But when Danny Casper fell ill with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a rare condition in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks its nerves, he asked Ruohonen to temporarily join his team in his place.

Ruohonen’s play and leadership made him so valuable on a team where most of the players were less than half his age, he was asked to stay on as an alternate even after Casper returned. That also earned him a trip to Cortina when Team Casper upset a team led by former Olympic champion John Shuster — Ruohonen’s old team — during the U.S. trials.

But while that got Ruohonen, a personal injury attorney, to Italy, he wouldn’t officially be an Olympian unless he took the ice, something alternates don’t always do in major competitions.

However with the U.S. well behind after seven ends of its 10-end game with Switzerland, Ruohonen, who first tried to get to the Olympics when curling was a trial sport in 1988, finally saw his decades of persistence rewarded when he was subbed on.

“I would have rather done it when we were up 8-2 instead of down 8-2, but I really appreciate the guys giving me a chance,” he said. “I knew they would at some point, and it was great. It was an awesome moment for me, even in a loss.

“I can’t believe it, the dream came true. My family was there and they were screaming and yelling.”

Consider it a moment for the aged.