Instead, Thobias Montler was able to start with a good first jump of 7.95, which was the longest at the time.
But before the first round was completed he was passed by Great Britain's Jacob Fincham-Dukes who jumped 8.06, his best this year.
Olympic champion and early favorite Miltiadis Tentoglou, of Greece, made sure he was on the right side of the plank in the second jump, moving into a clear lead with his 8.23 jump.
A lead which the Greek then extended in the third round when he jumped 8.35.
Montler jumped evenly but was unable to improve on her first jump (7.88 and 7.93).
After an overstep in the fourth round, Montler was passed by Frenchman Jules Pommery who jumped up to 8.06.
At the same time, Miltiadis extended Tentoglou to 8.52, a new EC record.
Centimeter drama
In the fifth and penultimate round, Montler got a nice jump and was seemingly up for a medal.
But there was a red flag after a fine overstepping.
In his final jump, he slid up to 8.06, the same length as both Fincham-Dukes and Pommery.
There and then it meant a jump from fifth to third place for Montler as his second-longest jump was longer than Pommery's.
Pommery was unable to improve on his remaining jump, leaving Thobias Montler to take EC bronze.
But shortly after the bronze was finished, Montler and the team filed a protest.
- Friends from home sent videos of Fincham-Duke's first jump, 8.06, it's pretty clear that it's overstepped.
Right should be right.
But we'll see what the judges say, it could be a silver instead, says Montler's coach Yannick Tregaro to SVT Sport.
CUT: Thobias Montler's medal jump
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Thobias Montler's medal jump