The championship reserve Truls Gisselman got the chance on Sweden's first leg after Calle Halfvarsson fell ill and was forced to leave the World Championship.
And it was a dream debut – in the end.
Gisselman made a brilliant effort and drove into the stadium as third, with the leading Norwegian Erik Valnes in sight. But then he fell.
It feels like the whole world is crashing down. It's the worst feeling you've ever had. There's nothing worse, says Gisselman.
Hid
He lost approximately 15 seconds on the fall and handed over to William Poromaa as seventh, 22 seconds behind Norway.
Then he went and hid.
I went into a locker room and wanted to be alone. It wasn't fun. It was only when it was time for the final leg that I came out.
Then he got to see how Poromaa had taken Sweden into the medal fight and how Jens Burman on the third leg had made sure the chance was still there at the exchange to Edvin Anger.
And Anger secured the bronze, Sweden's first World Championship medal in a men's relay in eight years.
Praised by the team
Truls Gisselman still has a hard time letting go of the fall, but he should, say his teammates in unison:
I'm damn proud of him. It's not just about stepping out and doing what he does, says William Poromaa.
He does it fantastically well. It's not easy to be thrown in as a reserve and he does it super well. The result would have looked the same even if he hadn't fallen, says Jens Burman.
Bronze winner Edvin Anger:
He keeps his nerves in check and does everything right. It's a crappy fall, but that's how it is. When he gets some distance to it, he'll understand that he did something very good.
Even more lyrical is Swedish men's coach Lars Ljung. According to him, there's only one way to look at Truls Gisselman's leg.
I really hope he'll realize what an enormous leg he did and what a fantastic performance it is. It's actually the one that paves the way for this medal, says Ljung.
