When the leading Frenchman Émilien Jacquelin shot away on the last shot, Ponsiluoma took the chance.
The Swede missed only one shot in the entire race and was ice-cold in the final shootout. He made all the shots and gained an unassailable lead.
I was really nervous until the first interval. There were a lot of emotions there and it was hard to focus on the skiing, says Ponsiluoma, wrapped in a Swedish flag.
I'm incredibly proud of what I'm doing today. I think I'm doing exactly what I want. I go in and shoot offensively, I'm very focused the whole way and in the end you get a little edge, so that means a lot.
The gold comes after a period in which the Swedish biathletes have been criticized for blowing medal chances and for not skiing fast. They had been medalless after five races.
“Should suit me well”
However, Ponsiluoma felt no pressure before the start of the chase.
I felt it when I woke up this morning and there was a bit of wind. Then I thought, well, this should suit me well as there should be some boom.
Partner and biathlete Hanna Öberg, who hours after Ponsiluoma's gold run was going out to try to do great things at the Olympics, wrote on Instagram "The most well-deserved Olympic champion ever" and also posted a picture of herself with tears in her eyes.
Rejoice with the whole team
The gold was also emotional for national team coach Johannes Lukas - partly for personal reasons.
It's the only race my whole family is here for. There are 15 "people" from Munich who have barely seen a biathlon competition or any Olympics and they all came today. And they were standing next to me out there on the track. So yeah, there were actually a few tears, he says.
He says he is very happy for Ponsiluoma, but perhaps most of all he is happy for everyone who is part of the blue-and-yellow national team.
Everyone works so brutally hard every day. The ramparts are here at four in the morning. We have four coaches who ride at least 25 kilometers every day. We have physiotherapists who work hour after hour. It's for all those who don't stand here (in the arena) at some point, I wanted the medal for them, says Lukas.
The silver went to Sturla Holm Lægreid from Norway, and the bronze went to Émilien Jacquelin from France.
Born: September 8, 1995 in Östersund.
Merits: Olympics: gold in pursuit start 2026, silver in mass start 2022. World Championships: gold in sprint 2021, relay 2023, silver in mass start 2023, relay 2021, bronze in mixed relay 2021 and 2024, relay 2023. World Cup. 1 victory in distance 2022/23.
2026: Gold: Martin Ponsiluoma, pursuit start.
2022: Gold: Relay, women. Silver: Elvira Öberg, sprint and pursuit start, Martin Ponsiluoma, mass start.
2018: Gold: Hanna Öberg, distance, relay, men. Silver: Sebastian Samuelsson, pursuit start, relay, women.
2010: Gold: Björn Ferry, pursuit start.
2006: Gold: Anna-Carin Olofsson, mass start. Silver: Anna-Carin Olofsson, sprint.
2002: Bronze: Magdalena Forsberg, distance and sprint.
1992: Bronze: Mikael Lövgren, distance and relay, men.
1972: Bronze: Lars-Göran Arwidson, distance.
1968: Bronze: Relay, men.
1960: Gold: Klas Lestander, distance.
