I’m the Oldest US Olympian. I Still Have to Work a Full-Time Job.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Rich Ruohonen. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I started curling when I was about 12 years old. My dad taught my brother and me. Curling was a demonstration sport back then. I played in college and in law school, but not at a level close to what I play now. I’ve been playing pretty competitively for the last 25 years.

I made my first men’s national championship team in 1998 and then again in 2001. I’ve been to the last 21 out of 23 national championships; I won two of them. I’ve also been in Olympic trials. But the 2026 Olympics were my first Olympics. I was the alternate on the US men’s curling team.

I am the oldest US Olympian ever to compete.

It’s unusual to have a day job as an Olympian

I’m a lawyer and a competitive curler. Most global athletes are paid by their governments to compete in curling, bobsledding, etc. Their only job is to train for the World Championships, which happen every year, and the Olympics, which occur every four years. They might get a salary, have their expenses paid, and get to keep any winnings.

Unfortunately, in the US, that’s not how it works. It’s one of the disadvantages of being a US athlete. It makes it difficult to train full-time. We do get a small stipend, but many US athletes have side jobs.

I have to work training into my day job

My schedule is complicated. On a week when I am not preparing for a competition, I’m at the gym four days a week, leaving my house at 5:15 a.m. to drive 30 miles to the training facility. I’m there at 6 a.m. and train until 7:30 a.m., then jump in the shower and rush to work. I work from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., sometimes longer. I go home and sometimes work again.

I play in a Tuesday night league during the season. I also “throw rocks,” what we call practice in curling, several nights a week. I’ll often throw on Saturdays and Sundays, two to four hours a day. Every waking moment between those sessions, I’m working, including the weekends, to get caught up at my day job.

When I’m on the road, I’m still putting in 40 hours or more of work. It’s not easy. It’s not that I don’t have any fun, but it’s a lot of work. I don’t sleep a lot.

Curling at this level is a major commitment. There has been a lot of sacrifice, including from my wife, who stayed home because I wasn’t there and who had to do more of the stuff with the kids, who are 21 and 24 now.

While the Olympics might be over, I’m still curling

I’m playing in the senior World…