Colds sidelined Swedish cross-country skiers one by one during the Olympics.
And the situation was not helped by the fact that the reserves were also sent home, in the belief they would no longer be needed.
That left only three men to start the five-mile race on Saturday and only two women on Sunday.
"It's so bad. We have so many good people, and we have good skiers at home too who weren't even selected for the squad. It's clear that it hurts not to be able to compete with a full team," says national team manager Byström afterwards.
"To the last battle"
If he had to do it all over again, it would be different.
"Then I think we would have decided before the championship that everyone would stay until the last battle. Then we wouldn't have had any discussion about the World Cup, etc., or whether you wanted to go home or not. With hindsight, we would have been clearer about it beforehand," Byström said.
The dissatisfaction and criticism from skiers, spectators and ski experts will likely lead to changes.
"We absolutely have to look back and see if there is anything we should have done better regarding both the number of skiers left and the selections," Byström said.
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At the same time, it is not a given that the national team can or will want to require all skiers to be ready to compete in races they had not planned for.
"There are other aspects to this too. Are you sufficiently prepared? Will you be able to handle it without ruining things several weeks later? You also have to keep that in mind," Byström said.
Busy week
For the cross-country team, the Olympics offered some twists and turns, with plenty of women's gold medals but also men's failures and health problems. Ebba Andersson's 5,000m victory was particularly long-awaited.
"It's been so much fun and so hard. It's been a pretty tough week after what happened with the men's relay, with so many illnesses. It's been a bit gloomy at the hotel. But now we can at least end it like this," Byström said.
Despite the women's medal celebration, Byström gives himself only an average grade.
"It will be a five out of ten. Good and bad," Byström said in Val di Fiemme.
