Ponsiluomas shot put won Olympic gold: “Was saving for it”

Martin Ponsiluoma has a large Swedish flag hung over his shoulders.

In 2021 he won World Championship sprint gold, but on Sunday, February 15, 2026, something even bigger ended. And one over the seat.

He says the same thing again and again in the mixed zone of the Olympic Arena in Antholz:

– Absolutely fantastic, you only dream of it.

The Swedish biathletes had missed one medal after another in the Italian Alps.

Then Martin Ponsiluoma slipped into the last shot of the pursuit start as a clear second, realized that the leader Émilien Jacquelin (France) missed two shots, shot full himself and set off for the first Olympic gold of his career.

– I was very nervous until the first split (on the last lap), but I was told to keep the distance and then I felt like “this should work,” he says.

How did you feel when you crossed the finish line?

– There are just so many emotions that it’s hard to take it all in now. When you walk in the room later today, you will probably understand what you have accomplished.

Martin Ponsiluoma is perhaps not a man of many words. But now he is one of the greatest Swedish biathletes of all time. Only four other Swedes, including partner Hanna Öberg, have won individual Olympic gold.

Are you just as good now?

Martin Ponsiluoma begins his answer with a short, characteristic laugh.

– Yes, haha! She probably has a few more wins (in the World Cup and World Championships), but that means a lot.

It’s only a year since he hid behind sunglasses in the interview zone at the World Cup in Lenzerheide after suffering (another) shooting error this season.

Everyone knows that Martin Ponsiluoma is fast on skis (he was the fastest in the Olympic pursuit). But the shooting failed again and again.

The 2024-25 season was a low point with just a 70 percent layup shooting percentage.

This year he is 81 years old.

In fact it was The only failure in the second series on Sunday was the pursuit start and there have been shaky contests this season too. But overall it’s a very different shooter this winter.

– He shot badly once before. There was no conversation. There were few good performances on the mound, shooting coach Jean-Marc Chabloz told the assembled press as Ponsiluoma briefly interrupted his interview to hug his parents.

– This year he shot much more stable, especially prone. It is important. Starting a competition with two or three hurdles, as he has done many times before… then it’s done. So the layup has been the focus and may have caused him to lose a bit of shooting percentage (76 percent shooting last year versus 75 percent this year), but today he’s showing what a great standup shooter he is.

This spring, Martin Ponsiluoma described the entirety of last winter as a “disaster season.”

How have you worked since then?

– We asked ourselves: “What are we doing?” so as not to overexert ourselves, says Chabloz.

– Then he works with a mental trainer, it’s a very nice interaction between the three of us. There was a lot to find Key.

As Martin Ponsiluioma comes back from the hugging party with his parents, he fills in:

– There were regular conversations with my mental coach, we talked all the time about what I was thinking and thinking, and discussed after each competition what I could have done better. You’re constantly trying to learn things.

He thinks he was calmer on the dam, he says, and takes on the races with a little more calm.

Now the little laugh comes again.

– I didn’t stress myself out so much or overwork myself. That’s probably the key.

– It was a very balanced season, but there were the last few shots where I didn’t really take the risk. I was probably saving it for today, so just enjoy!

Read more:

Johan Esk: The day it all happened – like “Guld-Ponsi”, which was shot at full speed

Giant race by Martin Ponsiluoma – Olympic gold in the pursuit start

Ponsiluoma on an exclusive list – only four other biathlon Swedes have individual Olympic gold