体坛英语新闻：Chinese national champion shines as athletes immersed in CEP

INNSBRUCK, Austria, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese national biathlon champion Cheng Fangming clinched the first gold medal on the snow for his country at the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games here on Sunday as young athletes enjoyed abundant Culture and Education Program (CEP) outside the competition.

Just ten days ago, Cheng won his first National Winter Games gold medal in men's biathlon. The 17-year-old Chinese hopeful then came to Innsbruck from China's Jilin province without rest.

Cheng overcame fatigue during the race, in which he missed only one standing shot, then went on to overtake several competitors on the final lap of the race to finish with a time of 19 minutes, 21.7 seconds.

"I won this to honour my country," Cheng said. "I am very excited, as this is the first gold medal for China on snow at these Games."

Cheng's visible excitement was matched by cheering and celebration by Chinese team officials. His coach Qiu Lianhai hailed his performance, saying the young boy was consistent since becoming a professional biathlete in 2008.

Host Austria also won its first gold medal of the Winter YOG. Local Tyrolean athlete Elisabeth Gram collected 84.75 points to win women's ski halfpipe in front of a delighted crowd.

Getting on the podium is not all of the YOG, an event balancing sport, culture and education. In line with the YOG's mission, the CEP continued to be an integral part in the youth sports gala.

A tightly packed cultural and educational program has been brought to athletes aged between 14-18, from mountain snow fun to drumming workshops, from media labs teaching them about photograph, video editing and social networks to "be the chef" teaching them the right way to cook.

"The CEP is great," said Ema Bago from Croatia. "It is impossible to take part in all the CEP event in one day, we will always come here once we don't have competition."