SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
The other day, when the U.S. curling team was trailing Switzerland late in a match, the team called in a sub. Rich Ruohonen stepped onto the sheet and threw the stone twice. And I will just say here that as someone who watches curling for a few weeks every four years, I think I got that phrasing right. In the process, the 54-year-old Minnesota lawyer became the oldest U.S. athlete ever to compete at the Winter Olympics. Ruohonen's Olympic journey took many twists and turns, and to me, it is one of the best stories to come out of this year's games. Rich joins us now from Cortina, where his team just notched a big upset win over the defending gold medalist Sweden. Welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
RICH RUOHONEN: Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.
DETROW: So I read a profile of you beforehand, and you said if you got a chance to get into the competition, you thought it would be one of the greatest moments of your life. And I'm wondering how it measured up.
RUOHONEN: I mean, clearly, it was. I mean, it's hard in a loss. I would have rather been up 8 to 2 and winning versus losing. But, you know, it was a little bit of pressure for our team because they wanted to get me in, too. So I said, let's just get it out of the way early, and then we don't have to worry about it. And, you know, what's cool about curling is we're all friends, and we know these guys. We play them all over the world every year. And I went up to the Swiss guys - 'cause in curling, usually when you're down 8 to 2 going into the eighth end, you just quit and shake hands. We're allowed to do that. Well, I went up to each one of them, and I've known them for years. I played against some of their dads, in fact.
DETROW: (Laughter).
RUOHONEN: And I was just like, hey, hey, guys, do you mind if we just play one more end quick, and we'll just make it quick? They said, enjoy the moment, have fun, let's throw it. And I made both shots and walked off shooting 100%, which is awesome.
DETROW: There you go.
RUOHONEN: So it was a great moment. It was one of the best moments of my life.
DETROW: You were a world-class curling competitor for years, and you thought you were basically done with a sport. You thought, you know, the Olympics just never worked out. You moved forward. You've gotten a lot of attention in recent days, but for people who haven't tuned into your story, what's the quick story of how you, as a 54-year-old, are the sub on the squad of guys about half your age?
RUOHONEN: Yeah. So I basically retired a couple of different times, came back in to help some young teams out and play with another team. And then last year, one of the guys on our team had a medical issue, Guillain-Barre syndrome, and he couldn't play all the time - in fact, very little, starting last year. And so I was the best free agent out there. And they asked me if I could come and play because I - you know, in curling, knowledge matters if you're skipping. So I just threw lead, and then - which is the first person to throw - and then I would go hold the broom. And, you know, curling is like a chess match on ice, so having that experience really matters. And so we played, and we were winning a lot.
And then Danny, our skip, got a little bit better. And so I just kind of moved to this alternate role, more on the side and doing all the things behind the scene, like cooking them breakfast so they can sleep in. You know, doing the driving and just carrying the brooms and whatever I need to do to help them so they can get sleep, and they can be their best. And I help a lot with the strategy. I come out on the timeouts when they don't know what to do. And so it's been a great deal. And I'm, you know - they're the age of my kids.
DETROW: Yep.
RUOHONEN: So it's been a great run for us, and I was just here to help in any way I could.
DETROW: When you're not on the sheet of ice yourself, do you still get nervous watching in this competition?
RUOHONEN: Oh, my gosh. It's worse watching than playing because when they make mistakes - you know, they're a young team, and curling is - it's a lot about strategy. And you can make mistakes and lose just because of the shot you called, and it's not the right shot at the time. So I get probably way more nervous than when I played.
DETROW: I'm wondering - kind of a two-part question - what do you think the team needs to focus on and what you, in this support role, this semi-coaching role, what you're going to focus on over the coming days to help the guys out?
RUOHONEN: We've been getting better every game, which is what our mantra has been, like, the entire season. And I think if we just keep playing a little bit better, we just got to win two out of our next three, and we're in the medal round. And, you know, at this level, it's one or two shots. You know, we throw - in a 10-end game, we throw 80 rocks, and the other team throws 80 rocks, and it's one or two shots that make a difference, and that's what people don't understand in curling. Even though the final score may be 7 to 3, it's one or two shots that decide when you're going to win.
You know, we're going to do some video review tonight about shots that we could play better and better strategy calls, and that's what I'm here for. So my hope is that if we make those right decisions, we can be in the medal. And either way, we're doing great - 4 and 2. It's an awesome showing, but we're not satisfied with just, you know, being 500. We want to make the medal round, and we have a really good shot.
DETROW: You could have very easily just enjoyed the moment, which it seems like you're mostly doing. But you also...
RUOHONEN: Yeah.
DETROW: ...Speaking to the press last week, used your platform to make a statement. You said, quote, "I'm proud to be here to represent Team USA and to represent our country, but we'd be remiss if we didn't at least mention what's going on in Minnesota and what a tough time it's been for everybody," referring to what's going on with ICE in Minneapolis. Why did it feel important to you to speak out in that moment?
RUOHONEN: Well, you know, I think all of us felt that way - the women's team and my team - and someone needed to say it. And I think I am the best person to say that. I'm the elder statesman, so to speak. I'm a lawyer. And someone needed to be that person. That doesn't mean we love our country any less. And that's the part - you know, I've taken a little bit of heat for that, and I'm fine with it. We have to use our platform to say what's right.
And you'd be amazed at the number of people around the world - at the athlete village that have come up to me. I mean, it's been over a hundred athletes that have come up to me and said, thank you for speaking out. I mean, these are people that don't live in our country and are like, thank you. I mean, it - 'cause we know what was happening was not right.
DETROW: Yeah.
RUOHONEN: And when you're playing with a lot of younger people, you know, they maybe can't express themselves in the way I have. I mean, I've tried a lot of cases. I know how to speak, and I didn't want it to be a distraction for the rest of the people. But if we didn't say it, it's not right. Like, we have to speak out. We're from Minnesota. We all have seen what's happened, and we needed to say what we thought. And I'm the guy to do it.
DETROW: I read about your out-of-office automatic email reply, and I laughed. Can I end by asking you to tell listeners what it says?
RUOHONEN: It says, please leave me alone. I'm at the Olympics.
DETROW: (Laughter).
RUOHONEN: And then I - of course, now I was in the Olympics. So it's - that's basically what I said. So in a nice way, a little nicer than I just put it, but pretty close. So - and then I've gotten just the unbelievable emails from - you know, I work with a lot of insurance companies and adjusters and lawyers around the country, and they're just like, wow. This is so awesome. You know, I didn't know. And - 'cause I don't really talk about it a lot. If you Google me, you can figure it out. But otherwise, I don't talk a lot about it, but my firm has really helped me out. They're taking care of all my stuff, and I'm basically dark right now, you know, not answering a lot of stuff. So I really appreciate everything they've done for me at TSR. They've been awesome. So - but yeah, that's my email. And it's - the response has been overwhelming. It's pretty cool.
DETROW: That is curler Rich Ruohonen, the oldest American to compete at the Winter Olympics. If it all goes well, you can put out-of-office saying, I'm celebrating an Olympic medal - leave me alone. Thank you so much.
RUOHONEN: Thank you.
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