In the end, William Poromaa had shaken off everyone except one. Unfortunately, it was the one you least want to meet in a sprint. On a boiling Granåsen, Norway's Johannes Høsflot Klæbo sprinted past Poromaa and made sure to sweep the World Championship with six straight gold medals.
I understood that if he's in the last hill, it's impossible to get away from him. Anything can happen, he can fall or whatever. But I mean, I'm skiing against the world's best cross-country skier of all time and I'm still competing all the way to the end. Damn, he's tough, says William Poromaa.
A massive audience
The 24-year-old Swede is beaming. He's smiling so broadly that it feels like he's just become the world champion. Maybe it feels that way when you've just taken your first World Championship silver and Sweden's finest men's medal in ten years.
I'm incredibly proud. You've dreamed about this. And to do it here in Trondheim – I'll never forget this day. It was completely crazy, says Poromaa.
The men's 50km freestyle offered a historic audience. In addition to the nearly 30,000 spectators inside the World Championship arena Granåsen, the entire forest was filled with people. Over 100,000 cross-country enthusiasts are said to have lined the course.
William Poromaa just shakes his head at the experience. The second half of the race was him alone against four Norwegians in the battle for medals, where Simen Hegstad Krüger eventually took the bronze.
It's hard to take in how many people there are. And when you're skiing with the Norwegians and it's just thundering and there are rockets and they're pouring beer on you. It was magical, says Poromaa.
Did you feel like you wanted to spoil the party?
That's how it was. I got so damn much energy from it. You feel like a sheep among wolves.
A light in the darkness
Sweden's men have had some result-wise dark years behind them. When William Poromaa took the World Championship bronze in the 50km in Planica two years ago, it was the first Swedish men's medal in World Championship context since 2017.
Therefore, it was not so strange that the men's coach Lars Ljung burst into tears after Poromaa's silver. In Trondheim, the Swedish men have also taken two bronzes, in sprint relay and relay.
Yes, damn it. There was a lot to take in. It was emotional, says Lars Ljung.
By the time of the home World Championship in Falun 2027, the blue-yellow men should be even better, he says.
The future looks bright. We have an exciting generation that's inspired by this too, and feels that "if William can do it, so can I". You know that if you're keeping up with William, you're keeping up with a World Championship medalist. That's also important.
