China won the first gold medal of the 2nd International Military Sports Council (CISM) World Winter Games held in Annecy, a city in the southeast of France, as Song Weilong triumphed in men's 500-meter short track speed skating Wednesday.

The 24-year-old Chinese skater clocked 42.651 seconds and won the title. In the interview after the game, Song Weilong said he explored the right techniques and tactics, and gave the credit to the support of his coach and teammates. He was fully confident of putting up a good performance in men's 1500-meter short track speed skating held on Thursday.

Song Weilong comes from the Chinese People's Liberation Army ( PLA) Base of Ice Training and has won the gold medal for the delegation of PLA in men's 1500-meter short track speed skating at the first CISM World Winter Games held in Italy 2010.

Nie Xin, Song's teammate, claimed silver and the French Maxime Chataignier bronze in the event.

Short track speed skating originated in Canada in the latter half of 19th century and gradually gained popularity in Western countries from 20th century. It has been part of the Winter Olympics since 1992. China has scored great achievements in this event, with athletes such as Yang Yang, Wang Meng, Zhou Yang and Li Jiajun crowned world champions.

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