'It wasn't easy for me to concentrate on my studies leading up to the A levels, so I took a break from sailing to prepare.' JUSTIN LIU, with Sherman Cheng


'I am pleasantly surprised with my results but there are no celebrations as I am already in school.' ELIZABETH YIN, who is studying in Sydney now

HE MISSED more than two months of lessons last year because of major overseas competitions, but sailor Justin Liu showed he could hold his own in the classroom as well.

The 2006 Asian Games gold medallist was pleasantly surprised to find out that he scored 5As (project work, chemistry, economics, geography, mathematics) and a B (general paper) when the A-level results were announced yesterday.

'It wasn't easy for me to concentrate on my studies during the months leading up to the A levels, so I took a break from sailing between August and November to prepare,' the former Raffles Institution (RI) student said.

'A lot of thanks goes to my teachers, who gave me extra help after all the lessons I missed.'

Among his achievements last year - winning last January's Australian National Championships and finishing fourth in the 420 class at last July's World Championships in Brazil with teammate Sherman Cheng.

The 18-year-old Justin, who is currently waiting to enlist for full-time national service, plans to do a degree in business or management, possibly at an Australian university.

'How am I going to celebrate? Just with a nice dinner. I've got to train tomorrow,' he said.

His national teammate, triple world champion Elizabeth Yin, also notched up impressive results. The former Victoria Junior College student scored 4As (chemistry, mathematics, geography and knowledge and inquiry) and a C (physics).

The 18-year-old's parents collected her results as she is currently enrolled in a three-year Bachelor of Science course at the University of Sydney.

The 2012 Olympics hopeful has, among other accolades, triumphed several times on the world stage, winning the Laser Radial crown last year, the Laser 4.7 in 2007 and the Byte class in 2006.

The soft-spoken teenager, who confesses to a love for fantasy novels, also won the Australian National Radial Women's title in January.

SingaporeSailing president Low Teo Ping, a former RI boy who was also a national rugby player and sailor, said: 'I think sailing in particular has always focused on discipline.

'This has contributed to the way they pursued their academic studies, and Justin and Elizabeth are proof that sports and studies can mix.'

Other athletes who did well included former national Under-19 netballer Suria Nikhita.

The former RI student scored 3As (economics, literature and general paper), a B (chemistry) and C (mathematics). She hopes to do a degree in politics, philosophy and economics in either the United States or Britain.