Before the weekend ended, Fredrik Lindgren was seven points behind leader Bartosz Zmarzlik - he had never been closer to a gold.
But unfortunately he is further away from the gold after Friday night.
The 35-year-old started by taking second place in heat four.
He followed it up with a victory in heat nine and a second place in heat 15. Lindgren made it to the semifinals, but did not manage to advance.
He finished third after Max Fricke, Australia, and Maciej Janowski, Poland.
Bartosz Zmarzlik, who leads the World Cup series, was under pressure on Friday night.
After winning his first heat, he was disqualified in his second heat, and third in his third.
But he won heat 18 and made it to the semifinals by the smallest possible margin.
Once there, he impressed and won.
But the final was a heavier story with a fourth place.
Ten points behind
Fricke won the competition before Janowski, and Tai Woffinden was third.
Zmarzlik leads the World Cup series on 113 points, eight ahead of runner-up Woffinden.
Lindgren is third with 103 points.