For three weeks, she has watched one teammate after another celebrate their Olympic gold medals. On the very last day of the games, she joined them.
Ebba Andersson was overwhelmingly superior when she won the Olympic 5 km - the historic first on the women's side - and became Olympic champion for the first time. Frida Karlsson, Linn Svahn, Maja Dahlqvist and Jonna Sundling had previously won blue-yellow gold in Val di Fiemme.
It's been difficult to control my emotions after the finish line, says Andersson as the Tesero ski stadium slowly empties for the last time at these Winter Games.
From darkness to gold
She will not receive the gold medal until Sunday evening's closing ceremony in Verona. The lust in her eyes, however, stands in stark contrast to the Ebba Andersson who walked through the interview zone just over a week earlier. Back then, her huge mistake in the relay meant that Sweden, who had been tipped as the favorite, had to settle for silver.
Then I stood here and really only had darkness inside me.
She also thinks about the World Championships five-mile race in Trondheim a year ago, when she fell right at the end and missed the podium.
It was also completely dark then. So it really feels like an incredible revenge.
Just getting to the start was a victory, she says. After colds knocked out both Frida Karlsson and Jonna Sundling, it was only Andersson and Emma Ribom (who finished 10th) who competed in the 5 km race for Sweden.
Once out on the track, the 28-year-old was in a class of her own. Norwegian Heidi Weng kept up with her for three kilometers, then she too was dropped. Her margin of victory was a magnificent 2 minutes and 15 seconds. The gap to Swiss bronze medalist Nadja Kälin was 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
Fell again
It was a perfect race, says Ebba Andersson. Except for when she fell flat on the ground while changing skis after four of seven laps, when the new pair had better grip than she was prepared for.
And that's despite the fact that the leaders really prepared me for the fact that the pack could be a bit aggressive. But if it hits, it hits, and it goes pretty fast. It was lucky that there were three laps left.
Shortly after that, the decisive gold medal came. Crown Princess Victoria sat in the stands and wiped away her tears, moved by Andersson's performance.
The gold means a lot, of course. And if it weren't for this tiredness and emptiness, struggling with the little energy that was left, I might have shed a few tears too, says the 5 km winner.
Only in the run-up was the future Olympic champion able to fully allow herself to enjoy it.
It was a nice moment to take in. Many people seemed to be happy about this success, just like me.
