Long before he was sweeping Olympic ice in the Italian Alps or being dubbed “Curling Rambo” by national media, Aidan Oldenburg was just a ten-year-old homeschooler trying out a stone and broom for the first time.
Today, Oldenburg is back in Minnesota, settling into a sense of normalcy after representing Team USA as the Lead for the Men’s Curling team at the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina. But for the Mapleton native and renowned Bulldog athlete, the path to a fifth-place Olympic finish was paved with an eclectic mix of small-town sports, unique hobbies, and a relentless “quality over quantity” work ethic.
While homeschooled, Oldenburg was a fixture in the Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton (JWP) athletic scene. He wasn’t just a curler; he was a versatile athlete who left a permanent mark on the school’s record books. He was a member of the first-ever JWP high school bowling team to advance to State in 2019 and was named All-Conference that same year. On the track and field, he reached the literal heights of the sport, tying his coach Tim Johnson’s school record in the pole vault. He even rounded out his multi-sport resume as a member of the JWP trapshooting team.
His bonafides in bowling and pole vault are beyond impressive; however, Oldenburg’s interest and eventual excellence in the winter sport curling came to him much later in life and took hours upon hours of training to hone, “Curling is a hard sport to break into when you’re younger,” Oldenburg reflects. “I wrestled at JWP during the winter and didn’t start curling as a full sport until a few years later. I played for fun for many years before moving into the competitive side after high school.”
Oldenburg’s competitive breakthrough in curling didn’t happen overnight. It took years of bouncing around teams and practicing at the Chaska Curling Club. Success in the early years was modest, with his first significant win coming at the Mapleton Junior Bonspiel around age 16. The turning point came at the 2020 Junior Nationals, where despite a 2-7 record, he was awarded the Rookie All-Star award. A year later, he took silver at the 2021 Junior Nationals, losing the final to his future captain, Danny Casper.
By the 2024 season, he was officially picked up by Team Casper. Though the Olympics felt like a “long shot” at the time, the team caught fire, fueled by a training regimen that saw them on the ice up to six times a week. They battled through a double-round robin at the Olympic Trials in November, even defeating the legendary John Shuster—a Team USA icon. They eventually punched their ticket to Italy during a “trial by fire” qualification event in December in Colona. “It was all a blur,” Oldenburg says of the moment they qualified. “The match started around 9 p.m. and ended close to midnight. Having my parents, Chris and Steve, there live watching us was amazing.”
Fast forward to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, and Team USA opened against Czechia. As the Lead, Oldenburg’s first two throws were vital to set the tone for his team, “There was a moment where I just sort of blacked out from all the emotion,” he admitted. Thankfully, he landed both stones in the house and Team USA eventually took the match by a narrow 8 to 7 score.
Overall, Oldenburg played exceptionally throughout Olympic play, and Team USA notched three straight wins in the preliminaries; however, three straight losses to the People’s Republic of China, Italy, and Great Britain knocked them off the podium and into a fifth place finish.
When he finally stepped onto the Olympic ice, Oldenburg brought a signature flair that the world quickly noticed then celebrated: a red headband. The origins of the garment stem from a collaborative act by Team Casper during the Olympic Trials, but Oldenburg enjoyed the fashion statement so much that he continued to wear them throughout most of the matches in Milan. “The headband started as a bit of a joke with the team, but it picked up momentum,” he laughs. As the headband grew in popularity, national media dubbed Oldeburg the “Curling Rambo” of the sport…a nickname that he appreciates, but doesn’t quite understand. “Yahoo News kicked off the ‘Curling Rambo’ nickname. I’ve never been called that in my life, but I enjoyed the comparison. My family even started calling me Rambo during games, and fans began wearing headbands as a sign of support. Safe to say, the headband is here to stay.”
Beyond the competition, Oldenburg fully immersed himself in the Olympic experience, from high-fiving fans in the streets of Cortina during the Opening Ceremony to befriending bobsled and luge athletes in the village. While exchanging stories on training regimens and close calls during competitions, the curler soon realized that the breakneck thrills of highspeed sledding may be entertaining to watch, but a terrifying experience to see up-close, “I watched the four-man bobsled and single luge and after speaking with a bobsled athlete about his ‘battle scars’ following a run, I decided I’m definitely sticking with curling.”
To stay calm under the immense pressure of the games, Oldenburg relies on a peculiar pre-game routine: juggling and yo-yoing. A man of many talents, Oldenburg has juggled flaming torches at the Minnesota State Fair and previously captained a Valorant E-Sports team at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
With the closing ceremonies over, Oldenburg has traded his Team USA gear for his professional role in environmental permitting at Westwood Professional Services, where he works on land development projects for wind and solar energy. While he’s taking a break from the ice to spend time with his dog, Zane, and his blue-tongued skink, Dr. Pepper, the competitive fire hasn’t been extinguished in this Mapleton native. “Reaching the podium would’ve been nice, but it was a great experience for our team to build on,” says Oldenburg. “Having that initial taste of global competition makes you hungry to run it back for 2030.”
As he reflects on the journey from the Chaska Curling Club to the world stage, Oldenburg’s message is one of gratitude. “It was an absolute honor to represent the U.S. at the Olympics—it’s still an unbelievable journey when you think about it. I can’t offer enough thanks to my family and friends who traveled to Italy and those who were cheering for us back home. Their support has been amazing and this Olympic experience will stay with me for a lifetime.”
Whether he’s on the Minnesota River fishing this summer or back on the ice in August, Mapleton’s “Curling Rambo” has proven that with enough dedication—and perhaps a well-placed headband—you can achieve anything from just about anywhere.
