A mysterious illness had stripped 22-year-old Danny Casper of the ability to perform even the most basic tasks. Almost overnight, he went from skippering one of America’s top-ranked curling teams to struggling to climb out of bed or walk downstairs without assistance.
At first, Casper brushed it off when his neck and back ached near the end of a February 2024 mixed doubles tournament. He attributed the soreness to his clumsy technique sweeping to try to influence the path of the curling stone. As skipper and primary tactician for his men’s team, Casper typically left sweeping duty to his teammates. In mixed doubles, that was not an option.
Danny Casper during Wednesday’s match against Team Czechia at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium on February 11, 2026 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
(Julian Finney via Getty Images)
The discomfort became all Casper could think about soon after he returned to his home in the Minneapolis suburbs. Sharp pain shot down his arms and legs. His hands and feet endlessly tingled as if he had slept on them funny. He relied on his roommates for meals and laundry. He barely had enough feeling in his fingers to crudely pound out text messages on his phone.
When Casper first underwent a battery of diagnostic tests, medical experts came away as perplexed as he was.
As weeks passed without a diagnosis or viable treatment plan, Casper’s mental state darkened. He no longer worried about recovering in time for the upcoming curling season. In his most hopeless moments, as he stared at the ceiling above his bed, his thoughts would drift to “the worst possible stuff.”
“I would try to watch shows and stuff to pass the time, but it was pretty terrible,” Casper told Yahoo Sports. “For awhile, it was like, forget curling. What about getting to tomorrow?”
Well, tomorrow has come, and it’s landed Casper in Cortina, Italy, where on Wednesday Casper led Team USA to victory over Czechia in their opening match of these Olympic Games.