After seven ends of play during the U.S. men's curling team's game against Switzerland, the Americans made a substitution, putting in alternate Rich Ruohonen for lead Aidan Oldenburg.

By entering the match, the 54-year-old Ruohonen became the oldest American ever to compete in a Winter Olympics medal event.

Ruohonen broke a previous record held by Joseph Savage, who was 52 when he competed in figure skating at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, when figure skating was a summer sport.

After the U.S. allowed two points to Switzerland in the seventh, Oldenburg was seen on the broadcast walking to the sideline and pointing to the alternate, telling Ruohonen, "You're in."

"I think it was," Ruohonen said when asked if getting into the match was the best day of his life. "I mean, it's kind of bad under those circumstances that we're in a loss, and I'm a team player 110 percent, but I told them, 'Let's just get it out of the way now so we don't have to worry about it the rest of the way."

Ruohonen took the ice when the team was down 8-2 in the eighth. He threw the first and second stones for Team USA in the end.

"To go in and make both was great. It was awesome," he said of making his throws. "The crowd was cheering me on and the (Swiss) Schwaller team were so great about it. Normally in our game we shake hands if it's out of reach and I just told them, 'Hey guys, we're just going to get this out of way, do you mind if I play a couple rocks and we play one more end?' and they said, 'Great, you deserve it. Get in there.'

"It meant a lot, and I think a lot of people in the crowd knew it and it was great."

The lawyer from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, had competing at the U.S. Olympic Trials every year since 2006 before skip Danny Casper chose him as an alternate for this year's team. He's a two-time U.S. national champion and six-time U.S. silver medalist.

He's been playing with Team Casper for about four years, skipping for the team when Casper was unable to make it to games.

"I love these guys," Ruohonen said. "I've been through a lot with them. These guys are my best friends, even though I'm twice their age. They know what it meant to me to get in there, so I really appreciate everything they've done for me and brought me along the way. And I've tried to help them in every way I can, and I hope I've done that."

"We're not doing him a favor by putting him in. He deserves it," Casper said. "They're looking at me after that end, like, 'Should we put him in?' like it's something that was not the most obvious decision ever. It was already on our mind. Glad to get him in."

The U.S. scored one point with Ruohonen on the ice, then conceded the final two ends in an 8-3 loss.

The U.S. men will be back on the ice to take on Canada at 3:05 a.m. ET on Friday.