That brought to an end a run of four bronze medals for Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, half of which were contributed by Herola and Hirvonen, who finished third in the individual large hill/10 km and individual normal hill/10 km, respectively.
Working as a team proved most effective, as the pair missed out on gold by 0.5 seconds to Norway's Andreas Skoglund and Jens Luras Oftebro in a frantic team event. Oftebro collected his third gold of the games, having beaten Austria's Johannes Lamparter to win both individual events.
It was so near and yet so far for the Finnish duo, both 30 years old, who had never medalled at the Olympics before these games. Both are experiencing career highs at Milan-Cortina, but speaking to the media after the team event, neither would commit when asked about what their futures held.
"The decision to stop is not easy for me. I can't make a decision even after the last race of the season. I need more time to think," said Herola, who described his current love of racing and finishing on podiums as: "The life I want to live."
"On the other hand, the sacrifices made for the sport are big. I've been making sacrifices for 15 years. That's something I have to think about," he added.
Hirvonen was more confident about his short-term prospects: "At the moment, I believe I will compete next year as well."
However, with the future of Nordic Combined at the Olympic Games to be decided by the IOC in June, it is hard for the Laukaa native to think much further down the line, although he remains confident he hasn't won one of the last Nordic medals at the Winter Games.
"Of course, the decision may affect our team's operations. However, we are optimistic and believe that these will not be the last Olympics for the combined. I wonder if we will be participating as a sport in France 2030."