Depressed and disappointed?
Not at all. Samuelsson saw the Olympic bronze as something won, rather than a lost gold or silver.
Absolutely. We have to do that. The fact that we win a medal is historically significant.
For Samuelsson, it was especially nice to receive a medal from the award presenter, French legend Martin Fourcade. In Beijing four years ago, he was left without one.
"Not a given"
It's not a given to win a medal. The job has to be done too. I think it means a lot for Swedish biathlon, for everyone around the team and for me too.
France, Norway and Sweden have dominated the relays in the World Cup this winter.
It was also the names - albeit in English - that shone on the digital results screens in the abundant snowfall in Antholz.
France's Eric Perrot and Norway's Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen had crossed the finish line by a good margin when Samuelsson turned onto the finishing straight.
Swedish supporters reached for his raised left fist. They wanted to celebrate the medal. Samuelsson agreed.
The people here and the atmosphere... it's a real biathlon party. I think you should take advantage of that energy too. Sports are sports, but first and foremost entertainment.
Ended up hopelessly behind
About 20 minutes earlier, Samuelsson went out almost simultaneously with Perrot and Sjåstad Christiansen. Martin Ponsiluoma had set the stage for Sweden in the gold medal race.
Samuelsson missed both his fifth shot and the subsequent first extra shot in prone. Despite shooting cleanly in the standing stage, he was hopelessly behind France and Norway.
National team coach Johannes Lukas pumped his fist along the track at the end.
"I tried to fight for it, but then I saw that Vetle and Perrot were way too far ahead, so it was fun to celebrate the bronze," Samuelsson said.
"I shouted to him to enjoy it because it's not obvious to win a medal. It's a big difference to leave here with something in your hand," Lukas said.
Any disappointment that it didn't get more than bronze?
"No, not a single minute for me. It's so tight. I'm just happy for the bronze," Lukas said.
