When the leading Frenchman Émilien Jacquelin shot away on the last shot, Ponsiluoma took the chance.
The Swede only missed one shot in the entire race and then 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 to do. 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, the first Swedish biathlon Olympic gold, comes after the Swedish biathletes were criticized for blowing medal chances and not being fast enough on the skis.
“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."
"The most deserving Olympic champion ever," wrote his teammate and fellow shooter Hanna Öberg on Instagram, posting a picture of herself with tears in her eyes. Hours after Ponsiluoma's gold run, she herself was going out to chase a medal - which ended with an eighth place in the women's pursuit.
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 the Olympics, and they all came today and stood next to me out there on the track. So yeah, there were actually a few tears," he says.
He is happy for Ponsiluoma, but perhaps even more so for everyone around him who is part of the blue-yellow national team.
"Everyone works so brutally hard every day. The skiers are here at four in the morning. We have four coaches who ski 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 to Émilien Jacquelin from France.
Born: September 8, 1995 in Östersund.
Merits: Olympics: gold in pursuit 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 distance victory (2022/23).
2026: Gold: Martin Ponsiluoma, pursuit.
2022: Gold: Women's relay. Silver: Elvira Öberg, sprint and pursuit; Martin Ponsiluoma, mass start.
2018: Gold: Hanna Öberg, distance; relay. Silver: Sebastian Samuelsson, pursuit; relay.
2010: Gold: Björn Ferry, pursuit.
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.
1972: Bronze: Lars-Göran Arwidson, distance.
1968: Bronze: Relay.
1960: Gold: Klas Lestander, distance.
