SINGAPORE gym buddies Collin Low and Adrian Yap have been crowned the champions of the second season of The Amazing Race Asia.
Collin (far left) uses sign language with his hearing- impaired partner Adrian.
And all thanks to a book mum gave one of the boys a long time ago - 20 years, to be exact.
But more on that later.
The victory also made the Singapore duo the first team comprising a handicapped member to do so in the history of the popular US reality series and its Asian spin-off.
Hearing-impaired Adrian, 28, was born deaf, while Collin, 35, communicates with his partner using sign language.
The finale was aired over cable channel AXN last night.
Throughout the race, they were often two steps behind alpha male frontrunners Marc Nelson and Rovilson Fernandez from the Philippines, who eventually fell to third place.
Malaysian sisters Pamela and Vanessa Chong came in second.
The turning point came at the final Road Block, where one member from each team had to arrange flags in order of the countries they visited on the race.
As Collin had performed the maximum six number of Road Blocks per person, it was Adrian's turn.
That's when the old book came in handy.
Even though they were the last to arrive at the Road Block, they finished it first because Adrian always had a 'big passion' for world flags and remembered what he read in the book of flags his mother had bought him as a child when he was eight.
He ended up finishing the task in five minutes while the other stumped teams lagged behind.
Euphoric Adrian, a strategic planning manager, told The New Paper at the wrap party at Indochine - The Forbidden City last night: 'It's such an unforgettable, amazing, heavenly feeling!
'And I'd like to thank my mum for buying me that book!
Collin, a regional sales director, added that their victory was made sweeter because this season started and ended in Singapore - and they managed to portray a positive image of Singaporeans to the rest of Asia.
He said: 'I realise it's not just an individual race but that we are also flying the flag and representing our country.'
He added: 'We showed that disability was a non-issue, and we hope our performance can encourage more disabled people to do things that normal people do.'
Viewers were surprised that Adrian could speak Japanese during the Japan leg, and he's keen to learn more languages.
Adrian is currently taking Chinese classes to improve his command of his mother tongue, which was never taught at Canossian School For The Deaf which he attended.
The duo won US$100,000 ($142,000), but admitted that they don't have any immediate plans for it.
Collin said: 'I know this sounds cliched, but the best prize was getting to know the other contestants.
'We managed our expectations. We weren't out to be first - it was the fear of being eliminated that was driving us.'
About half of the 10 teams that participated in The Amazing Race Asia 2 had openly declared in the show's trailers that they were rooting for Collin and Adrian to go all the way.
The popular yet humble pair were also admired and respected by their rivals and netizens alike for never losing their cool at the tasks or at each other during the stressful race, unlike other more volatile teams who bickered incessantly.
At the wrap party, Pamela gushed that Adrian and Collin deserved it because 'they have such good hearts, while my sister and I have only normal hearts'.
Rovilson added: 'It couldn't have ended better. We all love underdogs who beat the big bad team - it's a producer's and fan's dream.
'With their victory, it's a victory for everybody.'
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