Having wrapped up the 7.5km sprint in 50th place, Porter faced a 10km pursuit race in freezing conditions on Tuesday afternoon local time.

Not only is the distance more gruelling, but the pursuit involves two rounds of shooting in the prone position and two from the standing position. Porter also began racing five minutes after the winner from the day before.

“It was really hard but I managed to get through so it was good!” an exhausted but elated Porter said post-race.

“I’m feeling really good. Even though it was such a tough course I really pushed myself and managed to finish,” he said of the undulating Seefeld Arena.

The 16-year-old received an enormous cheer as he crossed the finish line in 49th place.

“The way the crowd cheers you on is what gives you that extra oomph to get across the line. It’s a really great feeling,” Porter explained.

Seefeld’s pièce de résistance is a brutal hill climb just before athletes enter the shooting range wanting a lowered heart rate. Porter managed the transition well and incurred just one penalty lap after shooting from the first prone position, but as fatigue set in he incurred four penalty laps on his final loop.

“The penalty laps were definitely the toughest part,” he said.

But when asked why he chose one of the most gruelling events on the Olympic program, an upbeat Porter explained his motivation

“It’s fun. It’s a really great experience to be able to do the skiing and the shooting. In the end it becomes really worthwhile,” he said.

“All of the hard work has certainly paid off.”

Porter has had an “amazing” Youth Olympics experience and was full of praise for his support network after his racing campaign finished.

“I’d like to thank my coach Tosch for all the work she’s done, my parents for just being there and supporting me and friends in general and all the cheering they did. It’s been amazing,” he said.

Buoyed by the inaugural Youth Olympics, Porter is determined as ever to pursue his passion.

“Maybe I’ll go to Sochi for the next Olympics. I’m not sure, I’ll just see what comes after this,” he said.

This competition may be over for Porter but he and the 1,000 athletes at the Winter Youth Olympics must stay in Innsbruck until the Closing Ceremony on January 22. The International Olympic Committee has designed a Culture and Education Program (CEP) with initiatives such as Mountain Awareness (avalanche survival skills), music labs, media workshops and many more to engage the athletes around their competition.